


Finding Nineveh

by Donovanspen



Series: Walk Through the Valley [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Caring Dean, Case Fic, Domestic, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Frustrated Castiel, Frustrated Dean, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Dean Winchester, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-15
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 00:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/804787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donovanspen/pseuds/Donovanspen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobby tells Dean of an old friend who may be able to help them with Cas’ transformation from angel to human.  No longer hunting, Bert could use a little help herself as she can sense something is coming her way.  Dean helps Bert uncover the evil lurking in her town while trying to get a handle with what’s going on with Cas, who isn't exactly opening up.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you?”</p><p>“Do I what?” Dean asked.</p><p>Cas hesitated, glancing away from Dean as he worried his bottom lip. “Love me?” he asked so quietly that Dean almost had to take a step closer to hear him.</p><p>Seeing Cas allowing himself to be so open, Dean knew that this was a big step for him, for both of them. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dean walked into the kitchen, glad to see that Sam and Bobby were already there. Reaching into the refrigerator to grab a beer, he decided to get right to the point. “Something is up with Cas.” He turned around just in time to watch Bobby and Sam exchange a look. “What?”

“Nothing.” Sam shrugged. “What were you saying?”

Dean hesitated for a moment, suspicious of the schooled neutral looks that they were both wearing now. “Did you see something? Have you noticed it too?”

“Noticed what? He seemed fine to us.”

“Something is off.”

“Did he say anything to you?” Sam asked, his eyes still roaming over the book in front of him.

“Nah. You know him. His arm could be falling off, and he’d just give me some monotone answer of being fine. He’s just acting off, kinda spacing out. You guys haven’t noticed?”

“That he’s bored out of his mind and tired of being coddled? Kind of hard to miss,” Bobby finally spoke up. 

Sam dropped his head, and Dean glared at the older hunter. He bit back the retort that sprung to mind. Bobby was his friend, and he more than deserved a certain amount of respect. He took a swallow of his beer. “No. More like that fact that I’ve found him zoning out a few times. Yesterday, he seemed like he was in some kind of trance and muttering about water and love. Earlier today, he was doing the same thing and this time it was something about snakes. Both times he had no clue I was standing there. When he snapped out of whatever the hell it was, he would give me some lame reason.”

“Could just be the changes that he’s going through,” Sam suggested. “This has gotta be hard on him.”

“Yeah, you might want to ease up on him a bit.”

“So what? I’m just supposed to ignore that something is wrong?”

“And what if we’re what’s wrong?”

Dean rolled his eyes but did manage to hold back the snarky comment that he wanted to let fly. Well, at least most of it. “This is great. I come in here because I’m worried about Cas and instead, I get you two ganging up on me.”

“We’re not ganging up, Dean. Bobby and I just think that maybe Cas is feeling a bit cagey. I mean, he’s not one hundred percent human yet, and he does seem to have a handle on whatever’s happening to him.”

“Maybe.” And that part was true. Cas’ angelic healing had kicked in within a few days after leaving the hospital. It wasn’t immediate but the cuts did heal faster than they would have if he were mortal. They had since determined that he could still go without sleeping and eating if need be, but that he could save his energy if he indulged. So Dean tried whenever possible to get the angel to share a meal with them or bunk down for the night, although Cas was extremely resistant to the notion of doing either.

Some of his more awesome powers were still not quite online. He could fly but not far distances. The one time he tried, he made it across the salvage yard, but was so exhausted afterwards that Dean had bitched nonstop as he helped him back to the house. Cas wasn’t much for opening up and sharing so they weren’t completely sure which powers were coming and going. 

“We can’t keep him in a bubble, Dean.”

“Did you guys miss the part where I’m telling you that there’s something wrong? I’m not making this shit up. He’s zoning out.”

“Have a seat. I might have an idea.” Bobby motioned towards the sofa. 

Dean stayed in the doorway until Bobby sent him a look, clearly not about to say anything else until Dean listened. He took another drag of his beer before finally making his way over to the sofa. He came to these guys for help, and all they wanted to do was ride him for being too hard on the guy. 

“Ok, I’m listening.”

Bobby rolled his eyes but otherwise appeared to ignore Dean’s belligerence. “I have a friend who needs some help. There are some strange things happening in her town….”

“A hunt? Are you kidding me? No way I’m taking him out like this.”

Now both Sam and Bobby were shooting him pissed off looks. “It’s not a hunt now shut up so I can tell you about it.”

He could usually expect a certain amount of leeway from Bobby but judging from the look that he was shooting him right now, this wasn’t one of those times. He pursed his lips together and gave Bobby a curt nod.

“As I was saying, there are some strange things going on. It’s not a hunt yet. She just needs someone to check out some mysterious things. Nothing is pinging on the radar, but she has a sense about these things and can feel it building.”

“Is she psychic?” Sam asked.

“Not really. She was a hunter but got sidelined, so she knows the score. She’s also very sensitive to supernatural beings. That’s how she knows that something is coming her way. She might be able to pick up on a few things about Cas that can help him out.”

“So you want to turn Cas over to a stranger? We’re supposed to be protecting him, Bobby. How do you know she won’t try to sell him to the highest bidder?”

“She’s not a stranger, Dean. I’ve known her a long time and so did Rufus. We’ve both hunted with her. And she’d be the last person to turn Cas in.”

“Why is that?” Sam jumped in, shooting Dean a look. 

“She didn’t always have this ability. Woke up from a car accident and got a crash course on the supernatural. Turned her life upside down. She met up with a hunter. They got married and were a pretty good team, until some other hunters decided she was a bit too different. Figured her abilities made her less human.”

Dean knew that Bobby stopped talking to let that last little bit sink in. A quick glance over at Sam confirmed that he too had picked up on the similarities. 

“Why doesn’t her husband check it out?” he wondered, still not ready to deliver Cas to a stranger.

“Died in a hunt. Got her out of the game and living with an aunt. He took a few jobs here and there. A few years back, the monster got the best of him. Bert is getting older, can’t fight like she used to so she stays in the background and just feeds tips.”

“How come you never mentioned her before?”

“Didn’t see much need, Sam. She’s trying to keep a low profile from hunters and monsters. If I thought she could help you directly, I would have told you. Kinda like I’m doing now.”

“Sounds good to me, Dean.”

“She has a small farm. You guys could spend some time there helping her get the place ready for the winter and nose around town a bit.”

Dean shook his head. He wasn’t ready to just put Cas out there like that. 

“The change of scenery would be good for Cas. He might be able to tell what’s going on; he’s still the most knowledgeable of all of us. And if this lady can help him….”

“And what if something happens while we’re on the road or while we’re there?”

“Then we’ll come down,” Bobby answered simply. “And at least if you’re there, maybe Bert can get a read on him because the way things are right now, he’s not going to tell you.”

And the truth stung. A small part of Dean may have thought that after all he had confessed in the hospital and done his best to nurse Cas back to health, things would even out between them. But of course, that wasn’t the case. The more strength that he regained, the more distant he became. There were some mornings when he woke up and held his breath, wondering if this was the day that he would wake to find Cas gone. 

“I think you should at least try it, Dean. He won’t really talk to us beyond surface things. If it gets any worse, he may shut us out completely. At least ask him,” Sam suggested.

Not making any promises, Dean headed outside. He still wasn’t too keen on the plan, and the fact that Cas was still acting weird was weighing heavily on him. But Sam and Bobby were right. Something had to give.

 

 

He looped around the yard, pretty sure that Cas was out here. He wanted to get a feel for how he was before giving Bobby’s suggestion any more thought. He found him out along the back fence line. He could immediately tell from his rigid posture and vacant stare that he was zoning out again and that scared the shit out of him. What if this was what it was going to be like? What if Cas melted away and all that was left was a human shell that had been burned out by the bright being?

He sidled up next to him, taking care to not startle him. He was just about to call out to him when Cas began to whisper. He edged closer but couldn’t make out what he was saying.   “Cas?” When he didn’t acknowledge him, Dean placed a hand on his forearm and tried again. “Castiel?”

And all of a sudden, Cas was back, giving Dean a confused look.

“You ok, man?”

“I’m fine. Why do you keep asking me?”

He opened his mouth to explain, but knew that it wouldn’t do any good. Cas wasn’t going to tell him anything, and Dean didn’t know how to help him. So he did what he always does: protect his family.

“Bobby has a friend who needs some help. Thought we might go check it out, get a change of scenery.”

   Apparently, Cas was just as eager as Bobby and Sam had claimed. He’d wanted to head out immediately and since Dean had no valid objections, they were on the road within an hour. It was a long drive from South Dakota to Georgia, made even longer by stilted conversations and uncomfortable silences. Cas didn’t have any further ‘episodes’ but Dean could tell from his pinched expression and grumpy demeanor that something was still off with the angel.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time they arrived at the address Bobby had given them, Dean honestly felt every single mile that they had covered and was ready to jump feet first into a hunt.

The farm was picture perfect. The driveway led up to the front yard of a quaint old-fashioned farmhouse. There was even a red barn out back. The whole scene was warm and welcoming, but Dean’s trained eye could see the protective measures this woman had taken. “Definitely a hunter,” he murmured. 

He was just about to get out of the car when he saw two large dogs eyeing them from the porch. They hadn’t made a move yet, but he was fairly certain they wouldn’t let them just stroll up to the door. He was mentally running through his options when he saw the screen door push open. A dark-skinned woman of medium height and lean build stepped out onto the porch. Based on Bobby’s description, he was guessing this was Bert. He watched her say something to the dogs that obviously made them stay put as she made her way down the porch steps. 

He glanced over at Cas and was surprised to find him focusing on the house with a wide-eyed stare. He gave him a slight tap on the shoulder. “Come on.”

“Dean. So glad you’re here,” Bert greeted him with a smile when he exited the car. “Bobby tells me I’m in good hands.”

He smiled in return, not wanting to appear too anxious in front of Cas. 

“And Castiel,” she turned to him. “I’m grateful for your presence. When you didn’t respond after the first couple of visions, I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

Dean felt the smile slip off his face and spun around to find Cas still standing by the car. His gaze bounced back and forth between Bert, whose smile had been replaced with a look of concern, and Cas who was still looking shell-shocked. 

“The hell? Visions?” he demanded, but Cas barely spared him a glance.

“Well, looks like we have a lot to talk about, but first things first,” Bert announced. “You boys must be tired, and I’ve got supper ready. Castiel, feel free to look around. The bedrooms are on the second floor and my study is in the attic. Dean, will you help me get the food on the table?”

He wanted to say ‘no’ and demand answers right then and there, but he knew that Bert wasn’t really asking. And if Cas was truly having visions, then maybe they needed her help more than he’d originally thought.

The kitchen was large, bright, and filled with savory smells. 

“Hope roast beef is ok,” Bert announced, resuming her work of gathering dishes and scooping up food. “Thought we’d eat here in the kitchen. Would you mind handing me those plates?”

“With all due respect, I need to know what’s going on here.”

Bert gave him a pointed look and then nodded towards the plates. 

He bit back another retort, frustrated, but did as she requested. 

Bert nodded and began ladling food onto plates. “About three weeks ago, I started having visions. It doesn’t happen very often for me. I saw Castiel, saw him receiving the visions. I don’t know exactly how it works, but after I get a vision, I just know things, like I knew he was an angel, and he was supposed to come here.”

“So you’re a prophet?”

“No. Like I said, this is unusual. I think it’s just a message, that maybe this has more to do with him than me.”

“Dammit,” he muttered. So many things were happening with Cas, and he had no idea what to do.

“I understand you’re frustrated,” Bert said as she carried the plates over to the small table, “but this is where he’s supposed to be. I haven’t had any more visions since you guys left Bobby’s.”

“But why? For the case?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “Or maybe because as an angel, he’s so bright and easy for me to sense. And right now, he’s scared and confused. I know you want to help him, but go easy on him. He seems a bit skittish.”

“Skittish?” Dean snorted.

Bert laughed. “It’s definitely not what he’s showing you, but it’s what he’s feeling. Why don’t you go get him for dinner, and I can tell you what’s going on? It may help him feel at ease. He’s probably up in my study.”

“Yeah, ok.” He stopped at the doorway and turned around. “You seem pretty at ease for having an angel in your attic.”

“I’ve been sensing evil things since I woke up from my accident. If I didn’t figure out a way to cope with all this, I’d have ended my life a long time ago.”

“I can respect that. So, I’m guessing it can get pretty bad.”

Bert nodded. “Sometimes it can be so strong that I fear the darkness may swallow me whole. But Castiel is so bright. It’s comforting, refreshing. Try not to worry so much about him. The journey may be hard, but I think he’ll come through it.”

 

  

Bert was right. After a quick look on the lower levels, he found Cas upstairs in the attic. He probably would have made the same choice. Even with Bobby’s endorsement and Bert’s warm welcome, the hunter in him knew that he still had to be cautious. 

Her study was filled with bookshelves, cabinets, a large desk and a worktable. Cas was in the corner at one of the bookshelves. If he heard Dean come up, he didn’t show it. So the hunter took his time studying the room and its defenses as well as the angel. He tried to see if he could see what Bert saw. Scared? Not that he could tell.

By now, Cas was watching him. 

“Dinner is ready. Bert sent me to get you.”

Cas nodded and returned the book to the shelf. He was walking towards the stairs when Dean called out to him.

“Visions, Cas?”

Cas stopped, his back stiff. “I believe dinner is ready,” he replied without turning around. He left Dean standing alone in the attic.

   

 

Having another person at the table didn’t make Cas any more talkative. Bert didn’t seem to mind, though, and kept up a small stream of small talk. Dean found himself drawn to the older lady. And not just because she laid out a feast of roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy and squash. He may not be a psychic or reader, but he could sense the goodness in this woman as well as the loneliness. And while she may claim to be retired and rocking the little old farm lady routine, Dean could see that she remained sharp.

“You boys eat as much as you want. I made plenty, but be sure to save room for dessert.”

“Thank you,” Dean nodded, shooting Cas a glare as he pushed the food around his plate. He wanted to groan aloud when Cas gave up all pretenses and put his fork down and placed his hands in his lap. He shot an apologetic glance towards Bert. “Sorry. He’s not much of an eater. Or big on human manners.” He almost laughed at the pissy look Cas was sporting but was glad to see some reaction other than stoic indifference.

“Well, I love to cook, and I don’t get company often, so feel free to indulge. Anytime you feel like eating, Castiel, please help yourself.”

“Thank you,” he replied, shifting a bit uncomfortably. “Dean mentioned that there was a case, and I’ve … seen things.”

“Yes,” Bert began filling them in. “I don’t have any hard evidence of anything, but I can feel it. It’s not overwhelming but it lingers.”

“How does that work, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t mind, Dean. Bobby says you’re solid and that’s good enough for me. People give off a certain amount of energy, and occasionally, I can pick up on what they’re feeling or thinking, mostly an emotion they are strongly projecting. Supernatural beings are so much more intense. They don’t even have to project, they just are. The more powerful they are or the more havoc they are wreaking, that’s when I pick up strong impressions. Proximity helps.”

Dean noticed that Cas looked considerably more uncomfortable as Bert explained her powers. Cas must have just figured out how exposed he was to Bert.

“So you’ve been sensing something around town?”

“Yes. It’s never in the same place, never the same intensity. I haven’t been able to track it to anything yet.”

“No other clues?”

“People are missing….”

Well, that’s big, Dean thought.

“But no trace of foul play, no supernatural traces left behind.”

“What does the police say? Don’t you think it might have been better to pose as law enforcement?” Dean questioned, accepting the platter of roast beef that Bert was passing over to him so he could refill his plate.

“This is one of those stereotypical small towns. They don’t like outsiders nosing around. I usually have to hire someone to help me out around here so they won’t think anything of seeing you around town. Besides, this isn’t the … fairest town in the South. Those reported missing weren’t the town’s most respected citizens. The sheriff isn’t really putting himself out there.”

Dean nodded in understanding, and Bert took that as a sign to continue.

“The family can file missing person reports, but they’re most likely told that the person, all male by the way, just pulled up stakes and left. You’ll probably find out more through town gossip, but they don’t normally talk freely around outsiders. Once they find out you’re with me, they’ll relax. You don’t mind helping me out in the meantime, do you?”

“Of course not,” Dean answered truthfully. “I’d rather be busy than sitting around in a motel waiting for something to happen.” And maybe Bert could help Cas in the meantime. She reached over and patted his hand as if she knew.

“Castiel, did your visions have anything that might help?”

Dean was amazed to see the small flush of color on the angel’s cheeks when Bert turned her attention to him. He also noticed that Cas had not looked at him at all since he’d set down his fork. 

“I saw you and the farm. I saw myself here, doing various things, but there didn’t appear to be anything happening here. I saw a woman, walking through some woods, and I saw water.”

Dean felt a small burst of anger as he remembered finding Cas on Bobby’s back porch, and mumbling about water. He had known something was wrong and had asked Cas, who flat out lied to him.

“You also mentioned love,” Dean added icily. He could tell by the way Cas’ eyes snapped to his that he realized that Dean had put it all together and was pissed. 

“Well, that’s a little more to go on,” Bert said, breaking the tension. “Dean, you’re welcome to join me on the back porch for dessert and coffee, if you’d like. Castiel, of course, you’re welcome to join us, but you’re under no obligation to do so. My home is your home. There are three guest rooms upstairs. Take your pick.”

Dean was disappointed but not surprised when Cas didn’t join them on the back porch.

 

 

   Dean spent the next thirty minutes sitting on the back porch with Bert and eating what had to be the best pie in the South.

“Sweet potatoes right from my garden,” she had boasted.

They had spent a few minutes talking about the case and how Bert knew Rufus and Bobby. Apparently, Bert had been pretty close to Rufus and was glad to know that he hadn’t died alone on a random hunt, and that he had been properly put to rest. Sharing those memories somehow seemed to melt the ice, and Dean was a little surprised to find that he was feeling more comfortable with this woman he had only met a few hours ago. Not that he didn’t trust Bobby, but his innate hunter instinct always kept him a little bit wary until he could make his own judgment.

After his third stifled yawn, Bert sent him upstairs to rest. Said that they would tackle the case first thing in the morning. He couldn’t argue with that, especially since they didn’t have any clear-cut leads at the moment.

When he walked down the hall to the bathroom, he noticed that Cas’ door was closed. He didn’t like where they had left it, but he needed some space. Pushing a confrontation with Cas was not the way to go, but it was certainly the way he was feeling right now. So he went ahead and took his shower, hoping that some of the animosity that he was feeling would start to fade away. 

Back in his room, he was still feeling restless when his phone started buzzing.

“Hey, Sammy. What’s up?”

“I don’t know, Dean. That’s why I’m calling. We hadn’t heard from you.”

“I sent you a text.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “But you just said that you got there. What else is happening?”

“Not much. It’s about what Bobby said. Bert can sense something. There are rumors of people missing but nothing concrete.”

“Hmm. Did she say anything about Cas? How’s he doing?”

“Cas? He’s fine. I mean, other than having visions of this town, this house, and the non-case that we’re working on. Oh yeah, and did I mention that Bert was also having visions of Cas having visions?”

“Seriously? Why the hell didn’t you call us?”

The surprise in Sam’s voice almost made up for the fact that he hadn’t believed Dean when he told him that something was going on. Almost. 

“Yeah. I think I might have mentioned that something was going on, but you and Bobby didn’t want to hear it.”

“Really, Dean?” Sam bitched. “Are you seriously telling me that you kept this to yourself because you’re pissed at me and Bobby? Is Cas ok?”

Dean sighed, his anger morphing into that ever-present unease. “No, he’s not. He’s freaked. Bert can sense him, and I think he’s feeling kind of naked. He’s not used to being so easily read. She says he’s scared.”

“Yeah, I bet he is.”

“I don’t know what else I can do, Sam.”

Silence filtered through the connection for a few moments before Sam spoke again. “There isn’t anything you can do other than what you’re doing. Dean, Cas is going through some stuff, but he cares about you. He has to. All the things that he has done give testimony to that. I know it’s rough, but if anyone is going to get through to him, it’ll be you. You just have to hang in there. I mean, he hasn’t left yet, right?”

Somehow, that didn’t make Dean feel as good as it should have. He felt pretty confident that Cas wouldn’t bail during the middle of a case where lives were at stake, but right now, they had nothing solid. There really wasn’t anything keeping Cas from getting totally freaked and bailing, vision or no vision.

“Yeah, suppose so.”

“You didn’t freak out on him, did you?”

“Course not,” he muttered.

“Dean.”

“Sam, he’s having visions. This is kind of a big deal. But no, I didn’t freak out on him. We talked. He compared notes with Bert and then went to his room. Haven’t seen him since.”

“Maybe you should go talk to him.”

“Sam….”

“No, hear me out. I think he needs that whether he realizes it or not. We said we’re going to be here for him. I don’t think he’s purposely testing you, but this is Cas. He doesn’t open up. And he’s hanging around with us, and we don’t open up. I’m not saying you need to do some big heart to heart. Maybe just let him know that you’re not pissed at him.”

“But I am.” 

“But if you communicate with him, he’ll know that you’re not just sticking it out because of a possible case.”

Communicate. Dean thumped the pillow next to him. Communicate my ass. Last he heard, communication was a two-way street. This communication definitely felt one way. But because most of Sam’s advice was based on his own experiences, he had no choice but to at least consider it. “I’ll think about it. I’ll call you when we have something more solid.”      He was still thinking about it when he saw the light peeking from underneath Cas’ doorframe. He poked his head through the doorway, not at all surprised to see Cas still awake, sitting on the bed, flipping through one of Bert’s journals. 

“Night time, Cas,” he said as he stepped further into the room.

“I’m not tired.” He didn’t even bother to look up from the journal. 

Dean reached out and placed his hand on the book, removing it slowly, when he realized that Cas wasn’t resisting. Placing it on the nightstand, he took a seat on the bed across from him.

The words tumbled out with a sigh. “We can’t keep doing this.”

Cas kept his gaze for a moment before looking away. “What do you suggest?”

“You could try being honest with me.”

“As so could you,” he countered, his eyes locking back onto his. “Your motives for coming here…you knew what she was.”

“Yeah,” Dean sighed. “Bobby told me. But I didn’t know what she could do or how this would go down. I didn’t even want to come here at first, but I could tell something was going on with you, and I was worried. Why won’t you talk to me?” He watched as Cas fiddled with the comforter, noticing that he was picking up more human mannerisms.

“Dean, do you trust me?”

He opened his mouth to reply when Cas cut him off.

“Really trust me? Because I think it should go both ways. It’s not easy to allow myself to be seen like this, even by you.”

“And you think it’s been easy for me?” Dean snorted. “You pulled me out of hell. You have seen me at my all time lowest moments, man. I have been angry, broken, helpless. And you saw it all.”

“And this is different.”

“Why? Because you’re an angel?”

“You may not like it, but it’s true. To say otherwise is to malign everything I have ever been.”

“Ok, I can appreciate that. So what do we do here? Look, I get it. Been alive for centuries and not having to deal with all this crap. But visions are kind of a big deal, don’t you think?”

“They are,” he agreed. “But it was … private.”

“Private?” Dean gave a weak laugh.

“Private,” Cas repeated, his tone edgier. “I have prayed to my Father for months, Dean, begged for guidance and help and received nothing. And now I receive visions, leading me places. Now. What about when I was drowning, trying to prevent Raphael from destroying the world? What about when I was faced with killing my brethren? What about when I was struggling to decide if opening purgatory would help?” Cas stopped and sucked in a deep breath, appearing surprised that he had vented so much.

And if Cas was surprised, then Dean was downright stunned. He wanted Cas to open up more, but honestly, he wasn’t sure if the angel would ever do it again. There had been a time when they were battling Lucifer that Cas allowed himself to need Dean. But not anymore.

“Yeah,” he said to fill the silence. “I get it. Guess this must still be kinda hard since you really didn’t come here of your own free will.”

He gave a half-hearted shrug. “When God wanted him to go to Nineveh, Jonah ran and ended up in the belly of a whale.”

“So, are you going to be ok with this?”

“Why wouldn’t I? It appears that the town might need our help, and Bert is nice. I want to help her.”

“And what about us?” Dean pressed. 

“What about us? I just said that I’m fine with helping here.”

“No, I mean you and me. You not telling me about the visions, and me not telling you about Bert.”

“I’m not exactly sure what you want from me, Dean.”

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t come to me. I learned my lesson, Cas. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“So you try to get me to trust you by misleading me?”

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect you, and I can’t apologize for that. But I can ease up if you’ll meet me halfway.”

Cas seemed to consider his words. “All right. I will try to be more forthcoming if you agree to stop treating me like a child.”

He almost wanted to protest the child comment, but he was too relieved that Cas was willing to meet him halfway. 

“Yeah. Ok. I can do that.”


	3. Chapter 3

It appeared that Cas took their talk to heart. He joined them for breakfast the next morning and even ate a few bites of scrambled eggs. After pooling their information and researching, they were still no closer to having a solid lead. Bert suggested they accompany her on her errands so she could show them around as well as maybe see if they could pick up something. 

Before heading out, Bert wanted to give them the grand tour of the farm. In many ways, Dean found himself comparing the area to Bobby’s salvage yard. The area was spacious, though, and not filled with dozens of vehicles in various states of repair. This was wide-open nature. The barn was in back of the house, and although it was fairly large, Bert didn’t raise any animals other than the two dogs that spent most of their time at the house. She used it mostly for crop and equipment storage, and a place to house her four-wheeler and cart. 

Although she had a good-sized amount of land, Bert chose to farm only a small crop, just enough for her needs and to sell enough to live on. It’s all I can manage, she had told them. Although it was outside of the property fence line, she shared ownership of a small stocked pond that sat on the adjacent farm. Dean saw a few things that he would like to take care of before he and Cas headed out. However, marking the fence lines with stronger protections and shoring up the overall defenses, they’d get on that right away.

After parking the Impala in the barn, they loaded up Bert’s older model F150 and headed out. Dean had to admit that Bert’s plan of integrating them into the town did indeed seem to be the best option. Their first stop was the Jackson farm where Bert was delivering several baskets of squash and onions. 

As hunters, he and Sam had often been on the receiving end of kindness from the people they had helped, but he still couldn’t help to feel a bit surreal as they were all invited into the Jackson kitchen to have coffee and zucchini bread. And the more time he spent with Bert, the more he liked her. She was obviously leading the conversation in such a way as to try to find out more about what might be going on, but her genuine affection for the Jacksons also shone through. The setting was so comfortable that Dean noticed that even Cas seemed at ease. 

As they made their way towards town, Bert showed them all the ‘landmarks’ of the area, where she could sense things, possible hiding places, etc. Their next stop was a small eating-place on what would be considered the poorer side of town. Bert directed Dean to park in the back alley so that they could carry the vegetables in through the kitchen. 

The owner was just as welcoming to them as the Jacksons had been. Just being with Bert seemed to be granting them immediate acceptance from the people they had encountered thus far. 

“Just set those baskets on that work table in the back room, and then you go grab a table out front. I’ll bring your food out, myself.”

Bert led the way to the back room. “Ella’s Place is great food. She does a daily menu and folks around here seem to like it. It’s a real laid back place,” she told them with a pointed look.

They finished unloading the baskets and then went out into the dining room. Bert found them a table near the front counter. She was well known in the small restaurant and spoke to most of the patrons, introducing Dean and Cas as well. It wasn’t long before Ella came out with the promised food. It wasn’t as good as what Bert had served up last night, but for the first time in a long time, Dean wasn’t missing the bacon cheeseburger. 

“Just a couple bites, Cas, otherwise folks are going to notice. And stop frowning at the plate.” 

Cas shot Dean a look but did put more effort into nibbling at the food and trying to make it look as if he was enjoying it. Dean figured if anyone asked, he would just explain that Cas was ‘special’.

Apparently, Ella’s was the place to go. By the time they had finished with their lunch, several customers had dropped by their table to speak to Bert and to pass along the latest happenings in the small town. Pete Tomkins had come stumbling home after a three day bender, just like the police had predicted. Sally Mayfield hadn’t even reported her husband missing. She just assumed that he was holed up somewhere, and she wasn’t about to waste her time looking. She was just going to file the papers and take half. But Lincoln Hardy and Rick Watson had been missing for days and nobody had any idea of where they were.

On their way back home, Bert directed Dean through town to a neighborhood. 

“Pull in right there. Yeah, that driveway.”

Dean looked past Cas who was sitting in the middle between them to where Bert was pointing. The driveway was clear, and it didn’t look as if anyone was home. In fact, it didn’t look like anyone had been there in weeks. Weeds were sprouting up in the yard; the trashcans on the side of the house were overflowing as if they hadn’t been placed by the curb for pickup.

Bert went up and knocked on the door. When she didn’t receive an answer, Dean heard her calling out to Tammy. She motioned for them to check around back. Figuring it was safe to do so since Bert wasn’t being stealthy at all, he gave Cas a tap on the shoulder and signaled him to come along. The backyard wasn’t any better than the front. Toys were strewn across the yellowing grass and general clutter was all over the back patio. 

He tried knocking on the back door, even looked through a few windows. The house was definitely empty. They walked back around front to see Bert over by the fence talking to one of the neighbors. He watched her shake her head and then head back towards them.

“Nothing we can do here. Let’s go home.”

He waited until he was backing out of the driveway before he asked. Part of him had hoped that Cas would speak up, but he was fairly quiet today. “So, Tammy?”

“You heard them mention that Rick Watson was missing? Tammy is his girlfriend and the mother of his children. She hasn’t been seen either.”

“You think they’re both gone? What about the children?” He felt Cas tense a little beside him but still didn’t say anything. 

“I’m not sure. Word is that Rick and Tammy have been fighting. The neighbor said that she and the kids were home just two days ago, but she hasn’t seen Rick in over a week.”

“Any chance Tammy did something to him?”

“Nope,” Bert replied.

“You seem pretty sure.”

“I am. Tammy is a young thing, barely out of high school. Had her children too young and no idea how to take care of them. She relies on Rick for everything. He’s older than her and twice as big. The relationship always seemed kind of one-sided, but she still had stars in her eyes. Even if she got a wild hair and got tired of how things were, she’s too immature to plan anything and too little to go at him head on.”

“So that leaves us back at nothing.”

“I’ve got a few trees I can try to shake, but you’re right. Nothing solid.”

Not much for sitting around, Dean decided to see what needed to be done around the farm while Bert tried to track down her leads. 

“Come on, Cas. You can help me reinforce the protections on the fence line.” 

It was the right suggestion to make. Even though Cas had been interacting with them throughout the day, he was still withdrawing within himself. Dean could see that despite their conversation last night, he was still a bit shell-shocked about this entire situation. Working on wards and protections seemed to be a good idea as it got Cas focusing externally. And likewise, doing the labor around the farm that needed to be done helped Dean burn off some of that nervous energy and frustration that he had been carrying around.

 

 

   The next morning was just as slow. Bert was still trying tracking down local leads and Cas was in the study going through Bert’s journals. Knowing that Bert still had a laundry list of things to be done, he headed outside. When he came in for lunch, Cas was already in the kitchen with Bert.

“Are you eating?”

“I said I’d try.”

Dean wasn’t sure that a banana really counted as trying. Fortunately, Bert had a more practical idea of what counted as a real meal and had a hearty plateful ready for Dean. 

“I bet you worked up quite an appetite out there. And as much as I appreciate all the help, you don’t have to try to do it all by yourself,” she told him as she set a thick roast beef sandwich in front of him. “The case comes first.”

“Well, at the moment, we don’t have anything to go on so unless there’s something else for me to do, I’d rather stay busy,” he told her, tucking into that sandwich. He was amazed that after that large breakfast of country sausage and hash brown casserole, he was even the slightest bit hungry. 

He noticed Cas looking towards the living room a few seconds before he heard the engine of a car pulling up out front.

“Get many visitors?” Dean asked, tensing up as the dogs began their frantic barking.

“Not often. But that’s encouraging,” she commented when the dogs settled down. “Go ahead and finish your lunch. I’ll yell if there’s trouble,” she added when Dean started to stand.

Reminding himself that she was a hunter and lived here on her own, he sat back down. He looked over at Cas who didn’t appear apprehensive either so he finished his lunch. 

Bert walked back into the kitchen followed by a young woman holding a baby in one arm and a small boy clinging to her leg. 

“Boys, meet Tammy and her kids, Marcus and Cora. Tammy, this is Dean and Cas. They’re helping me out around here this fall. Go on and have a seat. I’ll make you some lunch.”

The newcomers shyly took a seat at the table. The young woman gave them a hesitant hello as she got the little boy settled. Dean noticed that Tammy’s eyes were red, and overall, she looked a little worse for wear. The baby was restless and squirming in her mother’s lap, and the little boy was sitting quietly and staring at the table.

“Hi, I’m Dean.”

To his horror, the little boy hunched his shoulders and seemed to shrink in on himself while his bottom lip began to quiver. He shot a quick look at Bert and could tell from the frown on her face that she had seen the same thing, or at least was picking up on the feelings. 

“Dean, will you and Cas take the children into the living room while I talk to Tammy? I’ll come get them when their lunch is ready.”

He wasn’t sure how Tammy would feel about two strange men taking her children out of her sight, but Bert’s request didn’t leave much room for protest. “Come on, bud,” he told Marcus, waiting until the little guy obediently slid from his chair to follow Dean, leaving Cas to bring the baby.

He looked around the living room for something that might entertain a small child when he glanced over to see Cas standing stiffly off to the side. 

“Dude, that is not how you hold a baby.”

“She keeps moving,” he muttered, trying to adjust his hold on her. 

“She can probably sense that you’re uncomfortable. Relax and she will.”

“She likes it when you jiggle her,” a soft voice spoke up.

“Oh yeah?” Dean encouraged. “Like how?”

Marcus shrugged and then did a little bounce step.

“Think you got that, Cas?” he asked with a smirk. It was so worth the pissy look that Cas sent his way. And it just about made his day to watch Cas shift Cora to a better position and actually attempt to do the jiggly step. He tried, he really did, but he just couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped. 

“Sorry,” he apologized, holding his hand up. “It’s just not something you see every day. You’re doing good. Look at her. She likes it.” That fact was probably the only reason that Cas continued with the rhythmic bouncing, but he did turn his back to Dean and walked over to the window.

Marcus had moved over to the sofa and was sitting quietly. Dean tried to draw him out, but he never got more than one word answers or shoulder shrugs. He was just about to look for some cartoons for them to watch when Bert came in to get the children. 

“Hold up,” she told them as she took the children back into the kitchen for their lunch. A few minutes later, she rejoined them in the living room.

“What’s wrong?” Cas asked. 

“Rick is dead,” Bert announced, keeping her voice low. “He’d been missing for eight days, but his body was found two days ago. Tammy wasn’t married to him so she has no legal standing, and the police contacted Rick’s father who doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself.”

“Does she know what happened?”

“Not really. Rick was seeing someone else and that was what their fighting has been about. When he disappeared, he hadn’t paid the rent on the house. The guy who owns it stopped by and when he saw Tammy there, he told her she had to get out. She’s been bouncing from place to place, staying with friends. She relied on Rick for everything and now that he’s gone, she has no way of supporting those children. His father won’t have anything to do with her, and her family disowned her because she kept going back to Rick and having babies.”

Dean just stared at her, wondering when their case turned into a soap opera. “Do you think that this is related to whatever is going on here?”

“I do,” she nodded, looking over at Cas. “The visions. There was water in the visions, and Rick’s body washed up on the shore. It’s not much, but certainly enough to warrant checking it out.”

Cas nodded and Dean had to agree. “So where do we go from here? Do you think she’s a target?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sensing anything supernatural except the angel here. And all I pick up from Tammy and Marcus is overwhelming grief and despair.”

Dean hated when children were involved. Life was tough enough without realizing that monsters were real. And from what he was hearing about their family lifestyle, Rick didn’t sound like a prince, but he was still their dad. 

“I’m going to take Tammy into town and see if I can’t get them to release the body to her. They know that she and Rick were together. They’re just being asses about it because they can. Can you watch the children?”

“Uh, don’t you think it might be better if I went with Tammy?”

“Oh, the kids won’t be any trouble. Marcus is no problem at all, and Cora will go down for a nap after she eats. Besides, I’ve crossed paths with the chief of police before. Don’t believe that just because we have a black president that discrimination doesn’t still exist in some areas. There have been quite a few times when the darker citizens of this town have had to make a little noise to get fair treatment. As a young, unemployed mother of two, Tammy has already been written off. They’ll stonewall her all day long.”

“Besides,” she continued. “If there is anything to this, I’d rather the children be here with you.”

“Fair enough,” Dean conceded. “Not to be a jerk right now, but it would help if we could see the body.”

“I know. I’ll see what I can do. I’m pretty certain the funeral home will be our best bet.”

He’d honestly rather be on the active end of this one, but he was willing to follow Bert’s lead. If she had a way of working this without revealing that she was a hunter, then they would take it since she had to live here. 

“So, Cas? Ready for some babysitting?”

 

 

     Dean reached over and took the screaming baby. He wasn’t sure how Cas did it, but he had managed to get Cora all the way from sleepy and nodding off to full blown meltdown. And that was a pretty amazing feat as Cora was pretty agreeable. She hadn’t even cried when her mother left with Bert. 

“Did you change her?” Dean asked, doing the jiggly dance that Marcus had recommended earlier. 

Cas shot him a look that Dean was definitely classifying as a stubborn pout.

Rolling his eyes, he reached for the diaper bag and pulled out the items he’d need. Setting the red-faced baby down on the blanket, he got her all cleaned up into a new diaper. Exhausted from the crying ordeal, Cora was now making soft whimpers and fighting drooping eyelids. 

“Dude, come on. She’s a baby. She’s helpless. She’s counting on you.”

“Powerless.”

He frowned up at Cas, wondering why the odd word choice. “Ok, if you want to look at it like that. Now here, hold her like this, snuggle her up next to you, and she should go right to sleep.” He transferred Cora into his waiting arms. “See? She’s almost already out.” He was relieved to see that Cas had lost some of his rigid posture and was now cradling Cora like someone who had at least held a baby before. He was trusting that Cas could handle an almost sleeping infant because the other option was entertaining Marcus. And even though Dean knew that Cas could be sympathetic and compassionate at times, he wasn’t quite ready to trust that he could comfort the grieving boy. 

But it looked like the angel was finally getting it. Cora was snuggling up against the soft cotton of his t-shirt, and her eyes were finally closed. He handed Cas the soft pink baby blanket, which he then draped over Cora. He suddenly seemed so at ease that Dean briefly wondered if Cas had used a little angelic help. Cas’ eyes met his, almost as if he could read his mind. 

“Come on, little man,” he whispered to Marcus. “Let’s leave these two alone. Think you can help me with some chores?”

Another shrug but the young boy followed him out. He had been withdrawn during the entire visit, but Dean figured that was to be expected when you find out that your dad isn’t ever coming back, and you’ve been kicked out of your home. He knew that well-meaning platitudes would be useless so he didn’t even try. He just concentrated on being there and trying to engage him whenever he could. It turned out that playing tag with Bert’s dogs (who were surprisingly friendly for guard dogs) was the thing that finally got a smile out of the boy. They stayed out there running around with Banjo and Truman until Bert and Tammy returned. 

Walking back inside, they found Cas slouched in the armchair with a sleeping Cora on his chest and his hand protective against her back. It threw him for a minute, seeing Cas like this. He knew that the angel was many things and had the capacity for love, but this was the first time he’d ever seen him this comfortable around anyone outside their small circle. 

Dean caught Bert’s eye, and she shook her head. After sending Tammy into the kitchen with Marcus to get the young boy a snack, Bert and Dean moved closer to Cas so they could talk.

“The father sent in permission for the body to be released to a funeral home and then cremated. It was done last night and the ashes were disposed of because the family didn’t want them.”

Dean immediately thought about Marcus, and he was sure the expression on his face matched the one Bert was wearing. “Damn it!” He forgot about Cora until Cas shot him a look and rubbed his hand gently across her back. 

“I didn’t sense anything at all while there or on the way to and from town. They said his body washed up onshore on this side of the lake. Said they found alcohol in his blood. Not excessive but enough to impair his judgment. They’re counting it as an accident.”

Tammy came back into the living room. “Thank you for watching the kids, but we should be going.”

“Where are you going, Tammy?”

“I have some friends, Ms. Bert. One of them might let us stay until I can figure out what to do,” she shrugged, her voice light and raspy. 

“Tammy, I’m not your mother, and you don’t have to do anything I’m telling you, but you need to call your family.”

“I can’t, Ms. Bert. You know that they ain’t talking to me. Told me not to come back.”

“Well, this isn’t about you. You have two children that you need to think about so unless you want social services stepping in, you’re going to need to do something.”

“Like what?” Tammy asked, tears starting to track down her cheeks. “I can’t even let my kids say goodbye to their father.”

“Like setting things straight. Let’s go in the kitchen and get you something to eat also. You barely ate anything earlier. Then we’re going to call your family, and you will be staying with them. I promise you that. And then I’m going to call the pastor, and we’re going to arrange a funeral service for Rick.”

“How can we have a funeral, Ms. Bert? They cremated him, and the funeral home didn’t even keep the ashes.”

“What difference would that make?” Cas asked, finally speaking up. “He is already dead regardless of whether he is buried in the ground or cremated.”

A horrified silence filled the room. Tammy looked as if she was about to cry again when Dean hurriedly spoke up. “He means that not having a body doesn’t take away the need of having a memorial service.”

Cas looked at them and gave a subtle eye roll before going back to absently rubbing Cora’s back. “Those who die in combat often do not have a physical body that can be mourned. That makes the memorial no less important.”

“Thank you, but I can’t afford a funeral.”

“And you have been attending that church long enough to know that we take care of each other. You just leave the funeral arrangements to me. Now let’s go get something to eat. And then you call your family and tell them what happened.”

Tammy really didn’t stand a chance with Bert taking charge. She nodded and stood up, her gaze resting on her daughter. “You know, you don’t have to hold her the entire time.”

“I tried putting her down, and she became agitated. I don’t mind holding her; she is quite comfortable.”

“You doing ok?” he asked the angel after the ladies had left the room.

“Of course. Why?”

“Just checking,” he shrugged. “You’ve been on baby duty for a couple hours now. Some people get a little stiff or whatnot when they sit in one position for too long.”

“I’m not ‘some people’. At least not yet. Besides, she really does rest easier when I hold her. I may have limited experience with infants, but it was clear that this child was exhausted.”

“I bet. Kids pick up on stress, and if those two were fighting long before he went missing, they’ve had a rough couple of weeks. I think today may have been the first time Marcus has laughed in days. And then when he did, he got this look on his face like he should feel guilty for enjoying the moment.”

“Did you feel that way when you were a child?” Leave it to Cas to get right to the heart of the matter. 

“Yeah, a few times.” More than that really. “We were hunting. Sammy’s life depended on me paying attention. There wasn’t much time to just be a kid.”

Cora started waking up then. Tammy tried to come get her, but Bert sent her back into the kitchen to work on resolving family issues.

“Is this all right?” she asked when she returned with Marcus and paper and crayons.

“Absolutely,” Dean smiled, already sitting on the floor next to the young boy. “Think Cora is going to need a bottle, though.”

Five minutes later, she returned and pressed a heated bottle into Cas’ hand. Cora, seeing the milk, immediately began squirming and reaching for it. As well as Cas had been doing earlier, he was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the wiggly baby. Amused, Dean nudged Marcus and pointed to the fidgeting duo. 

“No, like this.” The young boy got up and went over to Cas and helped him get Cora into a comfortable position. 

Dean felt a small surge of pride as he watched Marcus take care of his little sister. Unfortunately with the way their lives were shaping up, the small boy was going to end up growing up before his time.

When he returned to Dean’s side and his drawing, Dean looked down at what he had drawn. “What is that?”

“A rat,” the little boy answered as he continued coloring in the long tail.

He guessed it could have been a rat but it was unlike any he’d ever seen. It looked more like a giant deformed possum, but hey, this was a three year old drawing it.

“Do you like rats and mice?”

The boy shrugged. “Not really. This is the one that was near our house. I saw him right before daddy went away.”

Dean looked at the picture and then over at Cas. The angel gave him a look, letting him know that he had indeed also picked up on Marcus’ seemingly innocent comment.

“Hey bud, you think maybe I can keep this picture?”

“Sure.” Marcus shrugged and reached for a clean sheet of paper. “You have to stop and burp her.”

Dean glanced over at Cas and sure enough, Cora was giving him fits again. Smiling, he got up and took the baby from the angel, placing the burp cloth over his shoulder and patting her back. Once she let loose with a tiny rumble, he gave Cas a cheeky smile. “There you go sweetheart. Don’t worry. He’ll get the hang of this soon.” He handed Cora back to Cas where she immediately made another grab for the bottle.

It wasn’t long before Bert came back into the room with Tammy. Apparently, the older hunter had done what she had set out to do and had arranged a tentative reconciliation with Tammy’s family, enough so that the young mother and her children would be welcome to return home until she decided what to do.

Bert told her she would be in touch about the arrangements and promised to see them in a few days. Tammy had tears in her eyes again as she thanked them, and Marcus even gave Dean a hug before leaving. Watching them drive away, he was more determined than ever to figure out what was going on here. They showed Bert the drawing but it wasn’t ringing any bells for her. 

She walked over to the cabinet in the corner and pulled out some folded papers and handed them to Dean. “This is a map of the county and the neighboring one. The lake where Rick was found sits in both counties along the border. This is where we’ll be searching tonight. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make some calls regarding a memorial service.”


	4. Chapter 4

It was late and Dean was getting frustrated. There were miles and miles of lakeshore and surrounding woods, and they weren’t getting anything. They had been out there for hours, and there wasn’t a hint of anything supernatural around besides Cas. He tried to get Bert to go on back to the house to which she gave him a sharp look and snapped that she might be from another generation, but she wasn’t ready for a walker or cane just yet. But then she softened the sting of her words by telling him that it was nice that someone cared enough about her well being to look out for her. Dean was glad that the dim lighting hid the blush that was warming up his face. 

Another hour passed and nothing. EMF wasn’t picking up anything and neither was Bert or Cas. He kept thinking about that little boy and promised himself that they were going to find out whatever happened before a body count started racking up. 

They were searching in a horizontal line with one person in the middle and the other ones flanking the middleman. Dean doubted that it was likely that any one would get lost, even in the wooded areas, but Cas wasn’t at full strength, and despite what Bert may claim, Dean was too much of a gentleman to let her go trampling around the woods in the dark. They still didn’t know what they were up against. For all the information they had thus far, it could have been the result of Rick stepping out on Tammy. The jealous other woman or jealous boyfriend. Right now, they just had no way of knowing. 

He glanced over and saw the beam from Bert’s small light, and then glanced in the other direction for Cas’. He stopped, scanning the area, trying to get a fix on the angel.

“Cas!” he hissed. No reply. 

He heard the crackling of brush behind him and spun around to see Bert making her way over. Figuring she’d come along, he started heading for where Cas should have been. He wanted to run ahead and shout, panic starting to build in him. 

“Calm down, Dean.” Bert’s voice was now next to him. “I can still sense him. He’s nearby and not in any distress.”

He nodded and forced himself to concentrate. Fairly sure that Cas didn’t walk up ahead of them, they started backtracking. They came up on him about 20 yards behind where he should have been, pacing back and forth along the shoreline.

“What the hell are you doing, Cas?” he hissed. Glad as he was to see him, he wanted to kick his ass for scaring him. 

Cas didn’t answer but kept walking around, looking around the area. 

Bert placed a hand on Dean’s arm. She too was now looking into the woods and then out over the water. The night was quiet before, but now it seemed eerily so. They stood like that for the longest, waiting and watching. Finally, Cas spoke, breaking the silence so suddenly that Dean actually startled. 

“Rick died here. He didn’t just wash ashore. It wasn’t an accident.”

“How can you tell?” Dean asked. 

“I can sense it. I can feel the energy left behind from his soul. This is where it departed. I can also feel the magic that was used here to lure him to his death.”

“Are you sure? Can you feel it?” he asked Bert. Even in the dim light, he could see the massive bitch face that Cas sent his way. 

Bert shook her head. “I’m not sensing anything.”

“So, how can you feel it, and she can’t?”

“I don’t know, Dean. It might have something to do with the fact that I am a celestial being and have been fighting evil for thousands of years. Or maybe it was just a lucky guess. You choose.”

“Dude, chill. I’m just asking. And I’m still pissed that you didn’t bother to tell anyone that you were dropping back.”

“And yet you still found me.”

“Ok, boys, that’s enough. Castiel, do you sense anything right now? Do you think whatever it was is still out here?”

Cas was quiet for a moment. “No. There is nothing out here right now. We can continue searching, but I doubt we’ll come across anything new before the sun comes up. Our best bet is to try to put it all together and see what we can come up with.”

Bert nodded and then turned to Dean. Fine by him. 

 

When Dean rolled out of bed the next morning, it was already after 10am. Man, he thought. He was sleeping and eating here in a way that he had never done before while working a job. But he couldn’t deny that he felt great. He just realized that he hadn’t even had a drink in days. Maybe there was something to be said for farm life.

He glanced into Cas’ room as he passed by. The door was open and the bed was made. He wondered if Cas was getting any sleep, and if not, what was he doing all night?

He found Bert in the kitchen listening to gospel music and singing along.

“Are you sucking up to the angel?” he teased.

Bert rolled her eyes and tossed a coffee cup to him, which he barely caught. “I’m a woman of faith, boy. Always have been and suspect I always will be. Despite all the bad I’ve seen, I’ve seen and felt enough good to keep me believing.”

“I can respect that. Might not agree with you, but I can respect it. Anything new?” he asked, filling his cup.

“Nothing yet. I’m heading into town today to meet with other members of the congregation to finalize the funeral arrangements. I’ll see if I can come up with something. I feel like we’re right on the verge of something but no idea what or when it will reveal itself.”

Dean knew what she meant. He wasn’t used to this much down time on a case. Usually, he and Sam were trying every angle by now. But then again, most of their monsters had shown their hand by now.

“You know, I’ve been checking the papers and online, and there’s hardly any mention of Rick’s death.”

“Not surprised,” Bert told him as she added more ingredients to the large mixing bowl. “The lake is a big money maker for this county. The city officials are not likely to tolerate even the slightest bad press, especially with the harvest festival coming up.”

“What’s that?” 

“The fall money maker. Every October there is an annual harvest celebration. Most places have them, not just here in the South.”

“Anything pagan related?” he asked wondering if maybe this was the break they were waiting for.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but no. Celebration has been going on long as I can remember, and I never sensed a thing. It’s just your usual stuff: chili cook-off, bake sales and contests, crafts, church choirs performing, hayrides, activities for the children. Some boat rides and fishing, and then they end the evening with a giant bonfire in the large field down from the main dock. The whole thing takes place at the park entrance to the lake.”

“Perfect,” he muttered. “Cas said Rick was killed there.”

“I’m hoping whatever this is will show itself before then. I wasn’t sure if we should call in your brother and Bobby, just in case. Security is good there, and there’s never been a serious mishap, but they won’t be prepared for this.”

“What are you making?” he asked, nodding towards the mixing bowl. 

“Practicing my peach pie for the festival. I canned the pie filling earlier this summer. I’m using my aunt’s recipe that I’ve tweaked a bit.”

“Do you always cook this much?”

“Keeps me busy,” she confessed. “This house gets pretty lonely. I cook and then usually take meals to those who can’t get around so well or have just fallen on hard times.”

“What about your family? You’re pretty much out. Why not just go back?”

“They won’t take me back. Those bridges were burned a long time ago. My parents obviously never stopped caring as they made me the beneficiary of their life insurance policies, but my brother and sister still hold a lot of resentment. The only way they would ever come around is if I renounced everything and received psychiatric treatment, or I proved it to them. And then they would never forgive me for ripping off that band-aid. No, it’s too late for me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I miss my husband terribly, but we saved many lives. I don’t regret choosing him. And Rufus,” she smiled fondly. “I have this ability for a reason, and I don’t think I’m done yet.”

“Cas.”

“Yes, your angel. While this case is important, I do not believe it’s why he’s supposed to be here.”

“Why then?”

“No idea. Sorry.”

Dean watched as she poured the filling into the waiting crusts. “Hope you don’t mind taste-testing. Got second place last year, and Mabel Thomas hasn’t let me forget it.”

“I’m sure I can take one for the team. How is he?” he asked after a minute.

“Restless. He’s in the attic pouring over everything I have which isn’t much compared to Bobby’s library.”

“Is he still….”

“Bright?”

Dean nodded.

“Quite. Were you expecting otherwise?”

“I’m not sure what to expect anymore,” he sighed. “He’s been through so much. He belongs in Heaven, but he’s here. I don’t know how that’s affecting him. He won’t tell me. When we were trying to stop the apocalypse, he was cut off from Heaven, and he lost many of his powers.” 

“And you think this is the same thing?”

“From what I’ve seen so far, it is. It’s more a matter of when.”

    

 

 

He spent the day working around the farm again. Bert had gone into town to meet with members of her church, and Cas had spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the study. He did come out with Dean after lunch and helped stack firewood, but he wasn’t very talkative. And Dean didn’t feel like pushing it. 

It appeared that his questioning Cas about being able to sense whatever happened at the lake had ruffled some feathers. It seemed like for every two steps forward that they made, they ended up taking a step back. He didn’t know how to tell him that most of his bluster was because he had been worried about him. Sure Cas had worked cases with them, quite a few, but he was still used to working by himself and not really needing to check in with a partner. And Dean was having a hard time impressing upon him the need to do so.

Bert had been helpful, more so than if they had stayed at Bobby’s, but he was still at a loss for how to deal with this whole transformation thing. So for now, he did what he could; he worked on the farm and gave Cas his space.

 

 

Bert returned early afternoon. “I think we got something,” the hunter announced.

“What is it?” he asked, eager to get back to the case. 

“Remember back at Ella’s, Suzanne mentioned that she’d heard that Lincoln Hardy hadn’t been seen around? Well, I don’t know him, but his name only came up because he works down at the marina with Suzanne and some other folks. There had been some talk that the reason his wife had left him was because he had cheated on her and fathered a child with the other woman.”

“This is seriously like a soap opera,” Dean groaned, wondering what the lead might be. 

“But there does seem to be an underlying foundation. Granted there are only two victims to date, but there is the common thread of love, betrayal, and apparently sex. Those elements coupled with magic have the making of some very strong spells,” Cas said.

“Well, the latest is that he hasn’t shown up to work for the past week and nobody has heard from him. With the economy the way it is, you just don’t walk away from a good job like that. I found out his address and drove past his place on the way home. I can sense something there. It’s not overpowering, but it is definitely supernatural and evil.”

“Well, that’s definitely something. So, how do you want to do this?” Dean asked.

“Well, as much as I hate sitting around and doing nothing, there isn’t much we can do right now. The police aren’t treating this like a serious missing persons since there wasn’t any sign of foul play at his house. I got out and knocked on the door while trying to get a closer look and nothing looks out of the ordinary.”

“Wait, you sense something evil in the house so you stroll right up to it?” Dean asked, a hard edge to his voice. 

“Still a hunter, boy,” Bert threw back. “There’s a difference between being practical and smart about your approach and just being plain scared. But I appreciate your concern,” she said with a wink.

“So we gotta get in the house,” he said shaking his head in slight amusement at Bert’s cheekiness.

“Tonight,” Bert confirmed. “I barely had a minute to look around because the neighbors were on me. Nice little suburban neighborhood and me and my truck kinda stood out, especially with all the speculation about where he could be.”

“So tonight,” Dean repeated looking at Cas who just nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

It was decided that since Bert had to live in this community, she probably shouldn’t accompany them when they attempted to search Lincoln Hardy’s house. They had no problem getting into the place; it was just almost impossible to search it while trying to not let any lights show from their flashlights. Fortunately, Cas’ true sight was online, and he didn’t need the lights. Dean figured Cas’ transformation was going to be something akin to going through puberty. Intermittent power fluctuations, mood swings, messed up sleep cycle. He didn’t think Cas would appreciate the comparison, though. 

It was in the bedroom where Cas started picking up on something. It was frustrating because he was having one of those puberty moments and couldn’t actually figure out what was tripping his angelic senses. Dean only relaxed marginally when Cas finally told him that he wasn’t sensing anything in the house or the yard. 

He was just about to ask the angel what he wanted to do next when he heard the telltale rustle of Cas’ wings. No. No way that bastard just took off. He whirled around and sure enough, Cas was gone. 

“Feathery son of a bitch,” Dean grumbled as he began a quick room search. Cas usually didn’t make it far so he cleared the house and then the yard. Nothing. 

He gave a brief look into the neighbor’s yard before making his way back to the car, cursing under his breath the entire way. He couldn’t even call the bastard because Cas wasn’t carrying a phone since they were together all the time. 

Getting into the car, he debated on where he should go. He pulled out his phone to call Bert, hoping that she would have some idea or at least come out and sense him when he saw a faint burst of light.

“Dammit.” He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and took off driving in the direction that he seen the light. 

About a mile down the road, he slowed down as he came upon a small wooded area. He hadn’t seen any sign of Cas and no other indication that he might be here. Easing the car forward at a crawl, he scanned the area. Finally, he saw a figure moving through the dark, stumbling towards him. The headlights landed on him, and Dean could see that it was Cas. 

He jumped out of the car and ran over to him. 

“I swear, one of these days, Cas. You are way overdue for an ass-kicking.” He helped him into the car, and was about to go look for whatever it was when Cas grabbed hold of his arm.

“It’s gone. I injured it. It wouldn’t have stayed around.”

“The hell was it?”

“A demon,” Cas panted. 

Now that he knew that they weren’t in any immediate danger, he took a minute to look him over. There weren’t any outward signs of injuries but Cas looked rough, and he had been barely able to keep upright when Dean found him.

“Are you hurt? What happened?”

“I’m fine. I appeared behind it, but was too drained to fully kill it. I was able to injure it, but in our fight, I did come into contact with a tree.”

“It threw you into a tree?” Dean asked incredulously. But then again, that wasn’t really a big surprise. He’d seen how drained Cas was after he tried flying somewhere. And from the looks of it, that angelic ability was still offline.

“It was a stupid move, Cas,” he chastised. And he was too angry to care that Cas was sulking in the passenger seat.

    They didn’t speak for the entire drive back to Bert’s house. Even though Cas had said that he had injured the demon, he didn’t want to take any chances with Cas being pretty much powerless at the moment. He drove as fast as he could without trying to draw attention to them.

Once they arrived and he saw how much it pained Cas as he tried to exit the car, he knew that the angel had downplayed the severity of his injuries. Annoyance warred with concern, but eventually concern won out as he made his way over to help him.

“I can walk on my own,” Cas snapped.

Dean didn’t try to help him anymore, but he stayed close enough just in case the angel took a face plant. He looked like he could barely stand, let alone make it up the steps and into the house. Frustration and anger took the lead again as he watched Cas stubbornly struggle to make his way forward.

“I do not understand why you are so angry,” Cas growled.

“Because you’re an idiot, Cas.”

Before Cas could answer, the porch light came on and the door opened. “What happened? Are you all right?”

“See? She could sense it.”

Cas merely scowled as he walked through the door that Bert held open. 

“Here, sit down. You look like you’re ready to fall over.” She led the way into the living room. Standing in the middle of the room, she ran a critical eye over them. Dean knew she was checking for injuries. Well, he’d pass. He wasn’t so sure about Cas. And obviously, neither was Bert judging from the way she narrowed her eyes when they landed on Cas. She studied him for moment, frowning, before shaking her head and taking a seat. 

“So, I’m guessing you found something.”

“There was a demon outside the house. I sensed it and confronted it before it was able to escape.”

“And then got his ass kicked,” Dean added.

Cas shot him a look that would have terrified anyone but Dean.

“We are on a hunt. I acted accordingly.”

“No, you took a risk that has gotten you sidelined. For all we know, you could be a sitting duck right now.”

“I may not be as strong as I once was, but I am far from stupid, Dean. I injured the creature. He would not be able to pursue me or anyone else for that matter. Additionally, the protections in this place are secure. But even if they were not, I am still quite capable of protecting myself.”

“Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, right before you let that goddess hack you to bits. And big surprise, you got your ass handed to you then, too.”

“Well, it sounds like we got a solid lead,” Bert jumped in, “and we’re in no immediate danger tonight. Cas, would you like me to take a look at you? I’m still a pretty good nurse,” Bert offered with a smile.

“And I’m still an angel,” he snapped back.

“Dude! No. Just no!” Dean barked, frustration stopping him from even finding the words to tell Cas just how wrong that was. But judging by the red tint of his cheeks, Cas knew. Still, he didn’t appear ready to concede defeat.

“My apologies. If you will excuse me, I shall retire for the night.”

It was painful watching Cas attempt to make a dignified exit when he was obviously in so much pain. Dean wanted to help him, but at the same time, he really wanted to put his foot up his ass.

“I’m sorry,” he told Bert after Cas had left.

“It’s all right,” she shrugged it off. “He didn’t hurt my feelings.”

“Is he all right?”

“He’s frustrated and scared. He reminds me of a little child who feels so small and alone in a big scary world, and he’s putting on a brave front when deep down inside, he just wants someone to be there.”

“Can you still see his… brightness?” His heart sank a bit when Bert frowned.

“It’s there, but not as bright.”

“Dammit! Do you think it’ll get stronger? I mean, if he rests up, it’ll come back?”

She shook her head slowly. “Honey, I honestly don’t know. I can’t see the future, and I don’t know your angel that well. I can only tell you what I’m sensing. Maybe if you told me a little bit more about him, I’ll know what to look for.”

“Hell if I know,” Dean muttered. “I was hoping you’d be able to tell me something because he sure as hell won’t. About a month ago, he got beat down pretty bad and was pretty much powerless. After he rested up, he started regaining some of his powers. When he ate and slept, he recovered his strength faster, but the stubborn bastard won’t do it without a fight.”

“Well, what makes you think that won’t happen this time?”

“Castiel isn’t a fallen angel. He’s transforming from an angel into a human. I’m guessing by that look on your face, you didn’t know.”

Bert drew in a shaky breath. “No, I didn’t. I mean, an angel walking among us, I knew it was something magnificent, but I didn’t realize that it would be of this magnitude. I had thought that I was merely here to help facilitate communication between the two of you, and honestly, I’m not so sure that’s not still the case.”

“Really?” Dean asked, “Because I’m thinking that there’s got to be more to it.”

“You were in the visions, Dean. My visions. I know from Bobby and Rufus what went down in regards to the apocalypse, and I know that Castiel is the angel that helped you. Like I said, I’m not a prophet, but I have been dealing with the supernatural in some form for the past fifteen years, and I have never heard of an angel being this attached to a human. Shoot, I’ve never even heard of angels being discussed without the name Winchester being in the conversation somewhere.”

“I don’t know how to get through to him.”

“If you don’t, who will?”

And what a question that was. Who indeed? Not his brothers. Apparently, Cas wasn’t even welcome in Heaven. Nobody but Joshua had even come to visit, and when he did, he didn’t even talk to Cas. Oh wait, there was Nathaniel, but that was more an angelic hit. No, Cas was pretty much disowned. 

“You’re afraid for him,” Bert stated.

Dean stared at her for a moment. “Guess I’m projecting pretty strongly, huh?”

“You have no idea. What exactly scares you? That he’ll get hurt?”

“That’s part of it,” Dean admitted. “I guess the other part is the unknown.” He couldn’t believe that he was sitting here and opening up to this woman. Sure he liked her and all, but this just wasn’t him. This just proved how much he cared about Cas if he was willing to confide this much in order to find a way to help him.

“Unknown as in how?”

“When an angel falls, they are reborn as infants and live out a human life. I met one angel who had done this, but she was still in tune with that world, and she had no idea what was going on. What if one day I wake up, and he’s gone and become somebody’s baby? Or when his grace is finally gone, what if he doesn’t remember anything? He’ll still be Cas, and he’ll still have a big ass target on his back. Dude’s made some enemies. Or what if he’s sick or….”

“Dean,” Bert cut him off. “I know you’re scared. I can truly feel it. I can feel how much you care for him. I don’t have the answers, but I have to believe that we’re on the right track. We both had visions. We’re both here. If you forget about Castiel’s angelic side and think of him as just another person, what would you do?”

“Hard to say. Cas isn’t just anybody. We’ve been through too much together, all of it because he is an angel. I don’t know if I can see him any other way. Hell, I don’t know other than try to keep him alive. And he’s certainly not helping with that.”

“He’s turning into a completely different being. When I woke up from my accident, I thought I was crazy. I’m a woman of faith. Always have been and always will be, but this world is so unbelievable. I had convinced myself it couldn’t be real. I was a nurse. There had to be some medical reason or illness for what happened. I almost gave in until I had a vision and saw it play out. Then I knew that it was real. The hardest part was being something other than what I was and being so alone. I didn’t have anyone who could help me, explain things to me, validate me. I don’t know exactly what Castiel is thinking, but I do know that he is frustrated, confused, scared, and lonely.”

And it stung to hear that. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“You said you didn’t know what to expect. What would you do if you woke up one morning and found that he was indeed an infant but still with you? Would you turn him over to some family or social services?”

“No,” Dean answered without hesitation. He wasn’t sure how they’d manage, but he wouldn’t abandon Cas, and he didn’t think that there was any argument out there that would convince him that he’d be better off with someone else.

“All right,” Bert nodded. “What about your other fear? What if he started forgetting? What if he couldn’t remember, even going as far as to forget you?”

This one was harder but not really. Any scenario that involved Cas being on this planet and struggling on his own just gnawed at him. If he could believe that Cas would be safe and have a happy normal life, then he would be all for it, but he knew better.

“Doesn’t matter. He should be with me. We’re his family.”

“Then I think you just keep on doing what you have been. Keep taking care of him the way family does for one another.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not really me and Cas.”

“There are many ways to take care of someone. It changes based on what they need. He’s still here, right? He came here because he thought he was coming with you, not because of the visions. It’s not perfect, but it’s something. Now come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“To see about your angel. He needed a little bit of space when ya’ll got back, but now it’s time to work this case. And first thing that needs to be done is to get him patched up.”

Dean couldn’t argue with that, but he imagined that Cas would. 

Following Bert upstairs, he gave a quick rap on the bedroom door. “Are you decent? Doesn’t matter, we’re coming in anyways.” Stepping into the room, he saw Cas sitting on the side of the bed. From the annoyed look of concentration, he could tell that he was trying to heal himself.

“Stop that! You’re already running on fumes. We’re doing this the old fashioned way.”

“Dean,” Bert jumped in before Cas could fire back. “Would you fetch my first aid kit? It’s in my study.”

He shot Cas a warning look, but the older hunter seemed pretty confident that she could handle the surly patient. He went to retrieve the kit, making the trip as short as possible. He met Bert in the doorway coming out of the guest room.

“I’ll start some water in case he wants tea. That shouldn’t be too much for him to digest. You should be able to find everything you need in the kit. If not, give a holler. I’m sure I’ll have whatever you need somewhere around here.”

With Bert heading back downstairs, Dean noticed that Cas was a little more hunched over and the air of animosity seemed to be gone.

“All right. Let’s get this over with. Are you going to tell me what needs patching up, or do I have to find out for myself?”

Cas didn’t answer. In fact, he made a point to look away from Dean, instead giving all his attention to the small lamp on the nightstand. But he could see that this was different. This wasn’t willful resistance but more like avoidance.

“Cas?”

“Dean, I’m sorry.”

It took a second for Dean to realize what Cas had just said to him. He had been caught off guard with the apology and then even more so when he heard Cas’ voice break. Now, if he only knew what it was for.

“For what?” he asked, setting the kit down on the bed.

“Everything. I have so many regrets,” he answered finally turning to look at Dean.

“Why now?”

“Bert told me that if I was lucky enough to have someone love me as much as you do, then I shouldn’t be such a horse’s ass.”

Dean’s lip gave a brief twitch. He wished he could have been a fly on the wall for that one.

“Do you?”

“Do I what?” Dean asked. 

Cas hesitated, glancing away from Dean as he worried his bottom lip. “Love me?” he asked so quietly that Dean almost had to take a step closer to hear him.

Seeing Cas allowing himself to be so open, Dean knew that this was a big step for him, for both of them. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

The angel gave a jerky nod, but didn’t seem to know what came next. And to be honest, Dean didn’t know either. So he cleared his throat and pointed to the first aid kit. “Let’s get started. What’s hurt?”

Cas furrowed his brow for a moment before lifting his shirt to reveal bruising and skin scraped raw across his abdomen.

“Whoa.” Dean gave a low whistle. “How’d you get this?”

“Fell down an embankment. My shirt shifted up.”

Dean leaned forward and took hold of the edge of the t-shirt and gently rolled it upwards, surveying the series of scrapes and bruises. Tucking the t-shirt up under Cas’ arms, he moved to feel along the ribs. “Nothing broken,” but he still frowned when Cas hissed as his hand brushed along a deep bruise.

“Dude, you’ve been sitting here this whole time, hurting like this?”

“Dean,” Cas grabbed his hand, holding it still. “I need for you to remember what I am, what I was. If I am to accept this fate,” he paused and took a shaky breath. “If I am to accept, even embrace what I am to become, I cannot forget who I am. And I need you to remember, also. Please.”

“Let’s get you fixed up first and then we can talk.”

“Dean.”

Dean looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity of his plea. This was Cas opening himself up, allowing Dean to see him vulnerable. And it hurt beyond belief to have to deny him. “I’m sorry, Cas,” he answered with a shake of his head. “I just can’t do it.”

Clearly, Cas wasn’t expecting that and tried to pull away.

“Don’t.” Dean pressed a hand on his thigh, not hard but enough to convey the message that he wanted Cas to stay still. “Look man, you know I didn’t want this for you. And I’ll do whatever I can to help you, but I can’t do that.”

“I understand.” Cas wasn’t pulling away physically, but he wouldn’t meet Dean’s eyes and his voice was flat and distant.

“No, I don’t think you do.” He moved to sit on the bed along side him. “You scared the hell out of me tonight. You just took off. You didn’t say a word. Not even a heads up. If I couldn’t hear your wings, then I wouldn’t have even known that you left on your own.”

“Dean.”

“No. Don’t. You just left me there thinking the worst. As far as I knew, flying knocked you on your butt. I had no idea where you were going, what condition you’d be in when you got there, or why you would even leave in the first place,” he told him, trying to keep his voice level.

“I came back. I was walking back to you.”

“You were staggering alongside the road in my general direction. I saw the flash of light, Cas, and went on instinct. What if I had driven in the other direction? What if that demon had gotten the best of you? What if there had been more?”

“People are dying here, Dean. Do you want me to stay hidden to protect myself when I can do something about it? I’m a warrior, Dean, despite my current condition. I can’t just automatically be something else.”

“Well, you’d better figure it out, because you’re not going to be an angel much longer.” He knew that was harsh, and he felt slightly bad when he heard the breath Cas sucked in, but it was necessary. It was happening. Pretending otherwise was just going to get Cas killed.

“I’m sorry, Cas, but that’s just how it is. You’re relying on your angelic instinct, and that’s just not going to be enough. And I can’t just sit around and pretend that you’re something you’re not, not if it could get you killed.”

“I can’t,” Cas muttered miserably. 

“Woods. One mile south.”

“What?”

“That’s all you had to say, man. It would have taken you 3 seconds, and I would have been right behind you. You get what I’m saying?”

Cas gave a shaky nod, and Dean was officially tabling this conversation for now. He reached over and gave his thigh a reassuring pat, hoping to convey what he just couldn’t put into words right now. Hopefully, everything that had been said would be enough. 

“We need to get those scrapes cleaned up. Go ahead and strip down while I go grab a washcloth. Better take those pills also, let them start working.”

“I don’t want….”

“Just over the counter stuff, Cas. Nothing that should make you loopy.”

Cas nodded and reached for the pills and glass of water. Satisfied, Dean left to retrieve the materials he needed. When he returned to the room, Cas was stripped down to his underwear and lying on the bed. After giving the angel a cursory glance and determining that all of his injuries were restricted to the upper torso, he placed a light blanket across Cas’ legs. He cleaned the abrasion and covered it with antibiotic cream. 

“Ok,” he said, finishing up. “Could have been worse but as it is, you’re just going to be sore for a while. Hopefully, your healing will kickstart as you get some rest.” He watched Cas try to stifle a yawn and then his eyes widen in panic as he struggled to sit up.

“Calm down.” He placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down to the mattress. “Quit fighting it and just let go.”

Cas began to shake his head and then turned to stare at the water glass. Accusing eyes turned back to Dean. “What did you give me?”

“Just what I said. It’s an over the counter painkiller. Nothing strong. It’s just the nighttime version to help you sleep.”

Cas began struggling again. 

“Stop it,” Dean snapped. “It’s just sleep. You know it helps so why do you keep fighting it? It’s not the first time you’ve slept, Cas.”

“I haven’t slept since I healed from being in the hospital.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve seen you sleep.”

“Small naps during the day. Never at night.”

“No,” Dean said shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure we’ve seen you sleep, Cas.”

“Angels can go into deep states of relaxation. I wasn’t fully alert, but neither was I asleep,” he explained, fighting back another yawn.

“Sneaky bastard,” Dean griped. “Well, tonight, you are getting much needed sleep. Trust me, you’ll probably feel better.”

“I won’t. I see them in my dreams.”

“Who? Angels? They’re not going to bother you anymore, Cas.”

“Not them. Dean, I have done so many terrible things.”

And then he understood. The thoughts that you can run from during the day tend to find you in the darkest of night. He felt bad for slipping Cas the sleep aids, but then he should have been more forthcoming. This was the very heart of the problem between the two of them. Cas would have never confessed to not sleeping, not without provocation. But then, he was just as guilty for deliberately not telling Cas what he was taking.

“Man, you’re drained. We need to get you rested up and back in the game, if for nothing more than to protect yourself. The pills will probably put you out so that you don’t even dream.”

“Or keep me locked in them.”

“What’s wrong?”

Dean turned and saw Bert standing in the doorway. 

“Nightmares,” he answered walking over to speak to her. “Cas has been doing this angelic non-sleep thing. I gave him the Motrin PM without knowing that he has nightmares if he actually falls asleep.”

Bert’s face scrunched up in the way that Dean now realized meant that she was thinking about something. “Based on what you told me earlier, even with the stress of the nightmares, the forced rest would be helpful. It’s already after midnight. You look exhausted. Go on to bed. I’ll sit up with him.”

“Nah. It’s all right. I wouldn’t get any rest now anyway. I’ll stay in here.”

“Ok,” she nodded. “But Dean, remember, you’re here so I can share the load. I want to help, and I believe I can, but you have to let me.”

“I will,” he promised, glancing back at the bed. 

“Call me if you need me. Oh, and Dean? Try touch. I think it will help.”

“Touch?”

She nodded. “As a nurse, I noticed that a lot of patients responded to just basic human touches: a pat on the back, squeezing someone’s hand, stuff like that. It might help soothe him during the nightmare to the point where you don’t have to wake him.”

Walking back to the bed, he settled on the other side, sitting up with his back propped up against the headboard. 

“What are you doing?” Cas asked, blinking heavily.

“I’m going to hang out here. See if that helps with the nightmares.”

“Not gonna…..sleep,” Cas muttered.

“Sure thing, Cas.”

    

 

 

Bert had been right, of course. Dean had dozed off also and managed to catch several solid hours before he felt Cas thrashing around. He didn’t look too distressed so instead of immediately trying to wake him, he just reached over and placed his hand on his arm, giving it a slight squeeze. At first, it didn’t seem to help, and he was just about to remove his hand when Cas seemed to relax with a sigh. That happened a couple more times, before the big one hit right around dawn. This one had Cas pretty worked up, and Dean had no choice but to try to wake him fully. 

“You ok?” he asked, looking down at him. 

Cas looked up to where Dean was sitting next to him. He blinked his eyes a couple of times in the early morning light before seeming to focus on Dean. “Nightmare,” he said needlessly. 

“Kinda figured. Wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“Heard it helps.” He waited a beat, but it became obvious that Cas wasn’t going to say anything else. And he could respect that. He would do the exact same thing. But that didn’t mean it was the right thing. Remembering Bert’s earlier advice, he reached out and began running his hand along his arm.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice still rough and sleepy.

“Touch therapy or something. Don’t knock it. It’s kept you asleep for quite a few hours.”

Cas made a small grunting noise and buried his head back in the pillow, obviously still groggy from the pills. Dean noticed that he didn’t pull his arm away, though.

“So, tell me about the dream.”

The pillow muffled the responding “no” but he heard it anyway. 

“Yes. Remember you promised to be more honest, and if I can give up sleep to try to sit here and help you, the least you can do is talk.”

Cas sighed, but turned his head slightly so that he was looking in Dean’s direction but not looking up at him.

“There are many things that I have seen and done as an angel that would be hard for a human to comprehend.”

Dean started to protest until Cas reached for the hand that was still on his arm and gave it a small squeeze. 

“I retrieved you from hell, your brother as well. I have been tortured. I have seen things. I have done things. I’ve never had nightmares before. Not until I reach the point where my grace is so drained that the inherit humanity of this body takes over. These … memories coupled with unfiltered emotions are debilitating. I know you want to help me, but unless you remember what I am, you can’t. I don’t want you to feel obligated to help me through this, Dean.”

“You’re not an obligation, Cas. I know that there is still… stuff between us, but it’s not bigger than how we feel about you. I’m here because I know what it feels like to lose you, and I don’t like it. None of us did.”

He saw Cas’ eyes flutter a bit as he tried to fight off sleep.

“It’s still early. Get some more rest,” he told him. He didn’t need to, though. Cas was already drifting back off.


	6. Chapter 6

When he woke up again, the clock displayed 10am. He was surprised to see that he had gotten this much sleep and felt so well rested, especially after being in the uncomfortable position of sitting propped up most of the night. He glanced over at Cas and saw that he was also stretching and waking up.

“How do you feel?”

“Sore,” he mumbled. 

“Yeah, getting thrown into a tree will do that to you. Take a hot shower. It’ll help.”

Cas blinked heavily as he started to become more alert. He looked over at Dean. “You stayed.”

“You would have,” Dean countered. And he knew that there wasn’t anything the angel could say to the contrary. Apparently Cas knew it also as he didn’t even try. He just pushed himself up and sat on the side of the bed with his back to Dean, giving him a good look at the purple bruising that had formed overnight. 

“Man, he got you good. Your back is a mess.”

“Feels that way.” Cas rolled his shoulders and hissed for his efforts. 

“Shower,” Dean said again as he also got up. “Come find me afterwards, and I’ll put some cream on your back. It’ll help.”

“You go first. I’m still a little unsteady.”

“Ok.” He hesitated at the door.

“I’m fine, Dean. Just still waking up.”

Giving him another glance over, he went ahead and gathered up his stuff.      As well as he felt when he woke up, he felt even better after his shower. He made his way downstairs and found Bert already in the kitchen. From the looks of things, she had been up for a while. 

“Breakfast is warming in the oven. Sit down. I’ll fix you a plate.”

He did as he was told. He still felt a bit weird about it, though, having Bert wait on him and mother over him. But a part of him couldn’t deny that he enjoyed it as well.

“How did it go last night?” She placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of him. “I peeked in on you guys, and you were both out, although you didn’t look too comfortable. Your back isn’t hurting, is it?”

“Nah, I had some pillows propped underneath.” And that was the thing about Bert. She had a way of drawing him out and showing concern while still coming across as a competent hunter. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were trying to fatten me up,” he commented once she set the plate of bacon, fried potatoes and scrambled eggs in front of him. 

“It’s country life. I stay so busy during the day that if I didn’t eat hearty, I’d pass out by noon.”

“It would drive my brother nuts to know that I’m on a farm with all these fresh fruits and vegetables and not even eating them.” The eggs were so good. He’d have to ask her for some of her recipes before he left. He glanced up to tell her how good everything was when he caught her slight smirk. “What?”

He saw her glance quickly at the plate. “It’s mixed in, isn’t it?” he asked. 

“Maybe,” she smiled. “How’s he doing this morning?”

“Sore. Not as cranky.”

“So no nightmares?”

“Oh he had them, but it wasn’t bad. Well, they could have been worse,” he amended. “You were right about the touching, though. Seemed to help.”

“I saw many cases where it made a difference. I’m picking up on so many emotions from him. Some random, some always there. I didn’t understand it until last night when you told me that he was transforming.”

He stopped eating. “You can see it…or uh feel it happening?”

“Some of it, I suppose. I’ve felt things all along, but last night after he was injured, his emotions were plowing through like a steamroller. I’m used to sensing things, even an entire room of people at once, and it was a bit overwhelming for me. If this is unusual for him, I can certainly understand why it is unsettling.”

He was just about to ask her more about the emotions when Bert looked over at the doorway and greeted Cas who had just come into the kitchen. 

“Good morning. Are you hungry?”

Cas looked at him as he took the seat next to him. “Not really, but I will try to eat.”

She brought Cas a cup of tea and a banana. “Might be better to start small and see how you’re feeling afterwards,” she told him. 

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” she replied, taking a seat at the table with them. “Figured after the night you had, you could use a bit of a breather. And you got us a few steps ahead in this case to boot.”

“Yup. So if Cas injured this demon, then it might still be held up somewhere licking its wounds. If we drive around, you might be able to sense it.”

Bert was nodding in agreement when Cas spoke up.

“It will be well on its way to trying to regain its strength by now.”

“Wait. Last night, you said that we didn’t need to worry about it.”

“We didn’t. That was then. But it has been several hours, and if the imp can try to tend to its injuries, I’m sure it will do so.”

“Do you think it will just leave town and move on somewhere else?” Bert asked.

“No. I believe the witch had a specific reason for choosing this town.”

“Whoa, slow down,” Dean interrupted. “You said demon.”

“I said imp.”

Weakened or not, Cas could still talk him in circles. “And an imp is a demon?”

“It is.”

He shot a glance over at Bert to see if maybe it was just him. Nope, she was giving Cas the same confused look that he was. “Witch or demon?”

“Both.”

“Of course.”

“An imp is usually given to a witch in some type of deal arrangement. The imp usually does the bidding of the witch, and in return, the demon is allowed to feed off the witch.”

“Feed?”

“Yes. Most likely her blood.”

Dean pushed his plate away. “Lovely.”

“Well, that’s something. Cas, what did this imp look like?”

“Are you thinking it might be someone you’d recognize?” Dean asked Bert who nodded. 

“Imps do not need to take a host. It retains its true form, small, scaley, unnatural coloring.”

“How the hell did someone miss that?”

“They can usually transform themselves into some kind of animal. That was most likely how it was able to assist the witch.”

“Animal? Something like maybe that rat that Marcus drew?”

“Most likely, but that doesn’t really help us as we already have the best description we can obtain from a child. And one rat is not likely to really catch someone’s attention as relevant other than having a rodent problem, which is most likely going to be the case as colder weather sets in.”

“Do you have any good news?”

Cas gave Dean a hurt look before focusing on his cup of tea. “You now know that we are seeking a witch, most likely the woman I saw in my visions.”

“Yeah, we got that,” Dean agreed, feeling a little defensive at having somehow hurt Cas’ feelings. He remembered what Bert had said earlier about Cas. He wasn’t sure that he would be able to tiptoe around the minefield of Cas’ volatile emotional state. “Do you think you can maybe draw this woman, or at least give us a description that we can go on?”

“I believe so.”

“So, there is a witch involved, and they now know that we have an angel on our side?” Bert asked.

“Looks like,” Dean sighed. 

Cas looked away, breaking off eye contact with the others, a red flush creeping up his neck.

“Oh don’t feel bad,” Bert told him. “I’m glad they know. I’m tired of all this sneaking around and hiding in the shadows. These things want to screw around and mess with people but are too much of a coward to come right out and do it. I’ve got better things to do than play cat and mouse with a witch. I say bring it on.”

Dean gave Cas a nudge on the arm, hoping to draw him back out. It didn’t work. 

“Most likely they will lay low for a day or so. The imp will attempt to regain its strength through the witch but in turn that will weaken her. We should be prepared, though. She may no longer be content to stay in the shadows. She may seek to cause as much damage as possible before a confrontation is forced.”

“Well, it’s not like we don’t have stuff to do in the meantime. But we’ll be ready for her when she does surface,” Bert vowed.

   

 

The rest of the day was spent laying low as well. Dean hated it, but he didn’t really have much choice. Cas still hadn’t recovered, and there weren’t any new leads. Bert had taken to driving around town trying to see if she could sense anything, but nothing was pinging on her radar. He hated the fact that she had to go alone, but they were both in agreement that Cas needed to stay at the farm until he regained his strength, a fact that Cas wasn’t too thrilled about. 

Dean stayed busy by helping Bert out with the chores. He actually enjoyed the work, the physical aspect allowing him to stretch his muscles and not sit around. It also kept his mind occupied so that he wasn’t hovering and constantly worried about Cas. He was improving, but it seemed like it was taking longer this time. After last night, he steadfastly refused to go back to sleep. After an hour of arguing, they compromised with Cas going into deep meditation at night but taking short naps during the day. He was also making the effort to eat a little at each meal. Sometimes he helped Dean, but mostly he stayed inside helping Bert or researching.

Dean was walking back from the barn when he saw Bert and Cas bringing in the last of the tomatoes and squash. The routine work of the farm seemed to be drawing him in, also. He thought he’d heard Bert mention something about teaching Cas how to make tomato juice. He’d have to send Sam a picture. Speaking of Sam, he figured now was as good a time as any to give him a call. His mind had been filled with the different parts of this case, and he’d been mulling them over while he worked. 

“Hey, Sammy. You too busy to call now? What? Out of sight, out of mind?”

“Something like that,” came the muffled voice through the cell phone. “How’s Cas?” Sam asked much clearer, as if he had shifted around for better reception.

“Been better.” 

“Dean? What happened? Is he all right?”

“He’s all right,” he assured him. “Had a run in with a scaly little demon called an imp.”

“An imp? So I guess there is something going on down there.”

“Yeah, looks like. This thing is working with a witch and killed this guy, but it’s hard to track. The town is pretty tight-lipped and not talking.”

“So what exactly is an imp?” 

“Cas says it’s a demon that doesn’t need to take a host. It keeps its creepy form but can shift into some kind of animal. Says that they’re usually given to a witch in exchange for something.”

“Hold on a sec.” Dean heard Sam’s muffled voice but couldn’t make out what he was saying. “You’re on speaker. Ok. Bobby says he’s heard of demons possessing animals but never transforming into one. So what do you need from us?”

“Anything you can find on witches who might be working with small demons or animals. Cas seems to know the lore so we’re looking for anything that might have caught the news. Also, this town is quick to make things go away, so see if you can dig around and find out if anybody else might be missing or if there are any unexplained deaths. Our victim was drowned in the lake and our second victim is still MIA.”

“I’ll see what I can find. Give me a few hours, though. Bobby and I are on our way back from a small hunt. We’ll be back home in a few and we’ll get started.”

“Thanks.”

“So….how’s Bert?”

“She’s cool. Sometimes she comes across all motherly, but I bet she can probably kick your ass, Sammy.” He heard Bobby mutter something about taking that bet.

“Yeah, Bobby seems to think she can keep you in line also. Does it look like she can help Cas?”

Dean watched as they loaded the baskets onto the trailer attached to the four-wheeler. His eyebrows shot up as Bert appeared to be showing Cas how to operate the vehicle.

“Dean?”

“Yeah, still here. I don’t know, Sam. She can certainly see more than we can in regards to him being an angel, and she can pick up on his feelings, but she can’t see the future. She interacts with him in a totally different way, though. In fact, she just taught him how to drive a four-wheeler.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup.”

“Wow, sounds like she might be good for him then.”

“I hope so,” he replied, watching Cas drive up towards the house. Because right now, he felt like he would take all the help he could get if it would help him keep Cas safe.


	7. Chapter 7

It was always difficult when they lost someone. It was even more so when they knew the victim and his or her family. But this hurt in a way Dean hadn’t expected. His interaction with Tammy had been limited, but he had bonded fairly quickly with Marcus and his heart was breaking for the boy.

Whereas Tammy had seemed alone before, she was now surrounded by people. Cas had regained enough strength that he insisted he be allowed to attend the funeral services and not left behind, especially since they weren’t actively hunting at this event. Bert had agreed, telling him that Cas appeared ‘brighter’ than he had.

They followed Bert into the small country church and took a seat near the middle. He normally didn’t do funerals. He and Sam did their job; helped the victims whenever possible and then moved on. Rarely did they ever attend a funeral for any reason other than to gather information.

Once everyone was settled, the choir began their first hymn. Allowing his mind to wander, he began reviewing what they knew about the case. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he startled when Bert nudged his knee. He glanced over at her, his body tensing, wondering if she was sensing anything. 

Instead, she leaned over and whispered, “You need to take him outside.” She pulled back and nodded towards Cas who was sitting on Dean’s other side.

He looked over at his friend who appeared to be sitting and listening respectfully. But Dean could see the way his hand was clenched by his side, his lips were slightly parted, and his eyes were fixed on the choir. He looked them over, trying to see if he could determine what was affecting Cas when the words of the song finally penetrated his brain.

 

Though the clouds may hang over  
There will be a brighter day  
In that land they call Heaven  
God shall wipe all tears away

 

And then it clicked. Cas’ reaction and Bert’s suggestion. He reached over and clasped Cas on the arm. The angel jumped and tried to flinch away, but Dean tightened his grip.

“Come on,” he whispered, leaning close to Cas. “Let’s go outside.”

He was hoping that they could slip outside without anyone noticing. The fact that they were the only two white people in the small church made that unlikely. The fact that Cas was in the middle of a panic attack made that downright impossible. Dean ended up practically manhandling the now gasping angel out of the pew and dragging him out of the church. 

“Breathe, Cas,” Dean muttered as he led him away from the church steps and over to a shady spot in the yard. He tried to get him to sit down or at least lean up against a tree, but Cas wasn’t listening. 

“Cas!” he barked, grateful when the angel finally stopped moving and focused on him. “Breathe,” he repeated in a softer voice. He settled his hand on the back of his neck, trying to keep him focused. “Try to calm down.”

Blue eyes filled with so much pain stared back at him. He opened his mouth but no words came out, only stuttering gasps. 

He reached forward and pulled his friend close to him, wrapping strong arms around him. He spent a few minutes just holding him, trying to mutter comforting words, but he honestly had no idea what to say. Cas only let his guard down like this when it was extreme, and Dean had no idea of what Cas was feeling, and how he could help other than what he had been trying to do all along. 

“Cas?” he tried to put a little distance between them, at least enough that he could see his face, but Cas just held on tighter, moaning softly between hitching breaths. 

“Ok,” Dean relented. “Ok, I’m not going anywhere.”

When it seemed that Cas was finally calming down, Dean tried again. Cas still wouldn’t let him pull away, but he did ease up on his strangle hold. 

“Come on, man. You need to tell me what’s going on. Talk to me.” The angel’s breathing was still stuttered but not nearly as much as before. Dean felt him try to take a deep breath. “That’s good. You’re doing good.”

“I can feel it, Dean.”

“Feel what?” he asked, his hand absently running along Cas’ back.

“Their faith.”

Even though the words were muffled against his shoulder, Dean clearly heard what he said. He took a steadying breath, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat. “It’ll be all right, Cas,” he told him, looking at the church and praying that was the truth.

“No, it won’t,” Cas whispered. “I can feel it now. I’m still an angel. I can feel their love, their faith. I can hear their prayers.”

He didn’t have the words to even try to make him feel better. Cas was hitting on the very things that were also scaring him. So, he did what he could. He tightened his grip around him and continued to rub his back.

“Dean?”

“Hmm?”

“He was here. I felt Him.”

Dean froze. He didn’t even need to ask. And he certainly didn’t know what to say.

“After all this time. It had been so long. And now I’m about to lose it all. Is this my punishment? To make me feel these things and live a mortal life knowing what I’ve lost?”

Dean could hear the muted sounds of the choir singing another selection. He couldn’t believe this. No. He normally wasn’t much for faith, and the things that he had experienced didn’t lend themselves to increasing his faith, but he had a feeling about this.

“Cas? Look at me.” He waited until the angel finally pulled back enough to look at him. His blue eyes were dry but filled with so much sadness that Dean felt as if something had reached right into his chest and squeezed his heart. “Cas, you had visions. You’re here now. Bert had visions. She can sense you. You felt your Father in that church. That’s pretty big. When you first met me, you would have told me to have faith and good things do happen.”

Cas’ lower lip trembled slightly, and Dean watched him bite down on it as he tried to regain control. 

“I promise I’m not leaving you. Whatever happens, we’re in this together. You got me?”

Cas gave a jerky nod, his breath coming out in short gasps. He dropped his arms from around Dean and tried to take a step back, but Dean pulled him back in. Cas collapsed with a muffled sigh and sank into the offered embrace.

  

Getting back to Bert’s house after the funeral, Dean immediately took Cas upstairs. He put up a half-hearted protest, but Dean could see that he was drained from his earlier emotional outburst. 

“Stop fighting me, Cas. Half the people from the church are about to show up downstairs. Let’s get you settled,” he told him, nudging him towards the bed. It was custom for the funeral attendees to congregate either at the church fellowship hall or in someone’s home after the services. And with Tammy and Rick’s families being so unreliable, Bert had opened her home to the grieving young mother. It was also a send-off for them as Tammy was going to stay with her sister until she found her own place. 

“Are you really trying to …put me down for a nap? Like Cora?” Cas asked.

“Yes,” Dean answered without hesitation. 

“If this is to be the result when I seek you out for comfort, than I shall most likely not do it again,” Cas grumbled.

“Quit your belly-aching and sit down,” Dean ordered. He gave him a slight push until he was sitting on the side of the bed. In full care-taker mode now, Dean squatted down and unlaced his shoes, sliding them off his feet. He stood up and reached for the tie, but Cas began unknotting it first, throwing Dean a pointed look.

“Tie and shirt,” he said, holding out his hand for them. “Leave the undershirt on.”

Cas sighed but relented and gave Dean the garments to hang up.

After putting the clothes in the closet, he turned back towards Cas who was still sitting on the side of the bed. He felt a little weird about ‘babying’ him in this way, but Cas’ reaction at the funeral, while understandable, still caused him concern.

“Get comfy.” He picked up the light throw from the foot of the bed and gave Cas a pointed look.

“I’m not a child,” he protested.

“I know. Look,” he began when it became evident Cas had no intention of complying. “If Sam or Bobby had lost their shit the way you did, I’d be doing the same for them.”

“You wouldn’t,” Cas disagreed, but he did finally give in and reclined back on the bed. 

“Maybe not,” he admitted, “but that doesn’t change the fact that you need to rest. I’m not keeping score or making judgments. We help each other.”

Cas didn’t answer, and Dean knew that he was thinking about what had happened earlier. “Do you need anything?”

“No. I know that you’ll want to help Bert as well as see to Marcus.”

“Well, they’re not here yet, and Bert would want to make sure you’re all right.”

“I am.”

There wasn’t anything that Cas could say or do right now that would convince Dean that he was ‘all right’.

“Dude, I can’t believe how much food is in that kitchen. And people are bringing more with them. Gotta love the South.”

“You hate the South.”

“During the summer. It’s so damn hot then that even the food doesn’t make up for the temperature. But now, in the fall, I can handle this weather. And the food is bonus. If we weren’t helping Bert out around this place, I would have already packed on ten pounds.”

“She’s nice,” Cas murmured.

Dean could see his eyes beginning to droop. He wasn’t sure if Cas was going to allow himself to fall asleep or just slip into that deep relaxation. Either way, he seemed to be drifting off, and Dean wanted him to rest. If he fell asleep, he would just have to make a point to check on him periodically. 

“Yeah, she is,” he agreed, keeping his tone low. “I wasn’t sure you were going to like her,” he added and then could have kicked himself for opening that doorway.

“Why is that? I don’t look at her as anything less than human,” he responded, slightly indignant.

“Yeah. I know,” he reassured him. “It’s just … you’re just a bit exposed with her. I don’t think you’ve ever experienced that before.”

“Not with humans.”

“Does it bother you that she can? That we know?”

“Of course it does. This is …difficult, being so exposed.”

He tried not to take that comment personally, as he could see that Cas was getting a little worked up again. Still, it nagged at him to know that Cas was still uneasy with him.

“Try to get some rest, Cas.”

Apparently, he was ready to be done with the conversation also as he just nodded and closed his eyes. 

“Stop it,” Dean said after a moment.

“Stop what?” he asked without opening his eyes.

“I know what you’re doing. Accept it for what it was. He was there, Cas.”

“But how do you know it was for me?” His words clear despite his weary tone. “After all this time, I can’t help but wonder. All that time I searched for Him and couldn’t find Him. How would you have felt after all that time searching for your father to find him just there but not for you?”

“I think He was there for you, Cas. Look at our lives. We hunt monsters. We rarely ever mix with society on this level. Even if you weren’t with us, you’d be doing the same thing. Sure seems like a lot of things led you in this direction.”

“Perhaps.”

Not wanting to continue this, Dean remained quiet until he heard cars arriving. Bert had placed the dogs in the barn so the usual barking was absent. “You gonna be ok?”

“Of course,” Cas murmured, his eyes closed. 

He had just made up his mind to stay when Cas spoke up. 

“You’re hovering. Go.”

Respecting the request for privacy, he got up but stopped by the closet. Following a hunch, he reached into Cas’ duffle. He rooted around until his hand came into contact with the soft plush, and he pulled out the stuffed rabbit. Without a word, he placed the rabbit on the bed next to him and then headed downstairs.

    

 

The next day came and went as if nothing had ever happened in the small town of Cartersville. It appeared that Cas had been right about the witch and the imp laying low. So life on the farm continued to be quite domestic. Dean, and sometimes Cas, worked outside while Bert made her winter preparations by tending her garden and canning fruits and vegetables. It was actually Sam who made the break in the case, calling to inform them of what he had discovered. 

“It was the sketch that Cas drew along with trying to find any dirt on anyone in town,” Sam’s voice came through the speakerphone.

“Did you find out who she is?” Dean asked.

“I did. Her name is Jeanine Douglas. From what I could dig up on her, she was just a smalltime witch who dabbled here and there, nothing big.”

“How did she go from smalltime to hooking up with a rodent demon and kidnapping and killing people?”

“To avenge the death of her sister. She made some noise in their hometown about how her sister got swept off her feet by a rich out-of-town businessman. She claimed that her sister was in love, but he treated her like a prostitute, showering her with attention and then throwing her away. I’m sending you links to the news articles as well as her blog. She ended up drowning, and the guy got off scott free as it was ruled accidental.”

“Who was the guy?” Bert asked.

“Jonathan Moorefield.”

“Who’s that?” Dean asked, watching the look of surprise that fell across Bert’s face. “Name sounds familiar.”

“The mayor. His family has been around here for generations. He’s old money. The name sounds familiar because they own those car dealerships where the commercials come on all the time. They also own a local construction company.”

“If she is angry at the mayor, then why is she going after these other guys? Bert, did they have any ties to that family?”

“Not that I know of.”

“I suspect,” Sam spoke up, “that she’s making a point. When she couldn’t get the media to pick up her story, she went to blogging and social media. By her own words, she felt that they unfairly judged her sister. They judged her as promiscuous and wild and immediately dismissed the possibility that she could have been the injured party. Or they felt that she got what was coming to her. Based on what you guys have said, it seems that she is trying to get even by targeting his town if she can’t get to him directly.”

“And that would be your connection to the love and sex,” Cas added. “The victims thus far were practicing infidelity, and she appears to have judged them by the same standards that the media and law enforcement judged her sister.”

“So how do we find her without trying to unearth everybody’s deep dark secrets?”

“I don’t know if we can,” Bert replied. “Besides, I imagine if she is really set out for revenge, then she’s not going to be as subtle as she once was, now that she knows we’re on to her.” 

“Just how powerful do you think this witch is? I mean, that imp was strong enough to knock Cas off his feet.”

“After I had drained my powers by flying to him,” Cas clarified, shooting Dean an irritated look. 

“Think you can blast him then with the powers you have now?”

“I don’t know,” he replied quietly.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll have other things waiting for them. It’s a demon, right? Then the knife should work. As well as exorcism. How good is your Latin?” he asked Bert. 

“If I felt like faking the documents, I could teach it in high school, maybe college.”

“What about the witch?” Sam’s voice came through the speaker.

“She’s human,” Bert pointed out.

“Who’s killed at least two people,” Dean countered. 

“We have not confirmed that Lincoln Hardy is dead.”

“Trust me, Cas. Just because we don’t have a body doesn’t mean he isn’t dead. Now that we know her sister drowned and that’s how Rick Watson was killed. My money is that she’s working a theme.”

“Damn,” Bert breathed.

“What?”

“The fall festival. If she’s coming after Moorefield’s town and drowning folks, what better opportunity than when everyone is going to be gathered near the lake?”

“Damn,” Dean repeated. “When is it?”

“Day after tomorrow.”

“All right, Sammy. We need everything we know on witches. We’ve only got one day to pull this together.”


	8. Chapter 8

It was the morning of the festival, and they still weren’t any closer to finding the witch. They had worked on their contingency plans, and Bert had driven all over the county and then some, hoping to pick up some sense of the witch or the imp but there was nothing. 

“Maybe, we’ll get lucky, and she won’t try anything today,” Bert suggested. 

It was hopeful thinking, and they all knew it. So they all left the house early that morning, armed and hopefully ready for anything. The morning passed by with relative calm with neither Bert nor Cas able to sense anything.

“I’m still not getting anything,” she said with a shake of her head. “If I were her, I’d wait until later in the evening when more people are showing up for the hayrides and bonfire. But then since we don’t know how powerful she’ll be, I’d keep an eye out near the water since drowning has been her method of choice. Other than that, try to blend in, boys.”

Dean and Cas spent the morning walking around the park, looking for anything out of the ordinary while Bert remained closer to the activity tents and tables that were being set up. When they met back up near noon, neither had anything to report. 

“I have been walking around up here, keeping an ear out and nothing. I did manage to slip away and walk down towards the shore, and I didn’t pick up anything then either,” she reported as they found a grassy spot and sat down with a snack.

People had been steadily arriving all morning, and by now the park entrance to the lake was bustling with activity. The food vendors had been on site for a few hours in anticipation of the lunch crowd.

“Eat something,” Dean commanded, taking another bite of his sandwich. It was good, but not as good as what Bert had been serving up for the past week. “We need every bit of your strength for this hunt.”

Cas grimaced and frowned as he looked at the food spread out before them. Bert had selected a small variety of things before meeting them for lunch, but Cas hadn’t selected anything.

Dean watched him for a moment before holding up his sandwich. “Here. Take a bite of this.” He knew that Cas wouldn’t eat a whole sandwich, but a bite here and there was better than nothing. “Just one bite,” Dean cajoled, as Cas continued to give the loose meat sandwich a cautious eye.

He eventually took the sandwich and took what had to be the smallest bite Dean had ever seen a man of his size take. He shot him a look but let it go.

“So?” he asked taking the sandwich back.

“What?”

“You like it?”

“No.”

He’d probably end up being a vegetarian. He seemed to like Bert’s cooking more than anything they had eaten along the way.

“Try this.”

He looked over at the sweet potato fry that Bert was holding up. Cas didn’t look any happier about that than he did the barbecue sandwich, but he did try it.

“Better,” he stated after he finished chewing. 

“They’re lighting the bonfire at 8pm tonight,” Bert announced. “The mayor is supposed to light it.”

“That’s got to be it, then.”

“I think so,” she agreed. “But I don’t think that will be all. She’s on a leash now and can only do so much damage. The bonfire will be her big finale, but I think she’ll try for easier targets if she can.”

“Maybe,” Cas said slowly as he accepted another orange fry from Bert. “But if there is a chance that she’ll scare people away, she may wait until the time when she can do maximum damage.”

“So back to waiting and watching,” Dean sighed. It was nice to be able to kick back and relax once in a while but spending the entire day mixing with the locals of Cartersville while hunting a witch didn’t sound appealing at all. Bert hadn’t been kidding when she said that the town didn’t take well to outsiders. Even at an event like this where the city makes its money and invites neighboring counties, he and Cas were still getting the wary eye from the townspeople.

“I have been thinking about the witch and what options may be available to her. I do not believe that she has had sufficient time to fully recover, not if she had to sustain the imp. The power of the imp is limited, significantly more than the witch would have been able to yield herself but not as strong as demons that you have previously encountered.”

“Ok, so what does that mean?” Dean asked, handing Cas another fry. 

The angel shot him a look but went ahead and took the proffered piece of food.

“I believe that she will only be able to achieve maximum casualties by employing unconventional methods.”

“So basically be prepared for anything.”

“Pretty much,” Cas confirmed, frowning at him as he tried to give him another fry.

 

    

The remainder of the day went pretty much as Dean had feared. They wandered around the harvest festival listening to high school bands and church choirs. Dean was able to convince Cas to sample some of the foods offered, but he didn’t seem to have a preference for anything that he tried. By early evening, Dean was small-towned out. He was tense and itching for a fight so this could be over and done with. Any sympathy that he might have had for Jeanine and what happened with her sister vanished every time he thought of Marcus’ too bright eyes and quivering lip.

Another sweep of the woods and then back up into the festival area. As the hour got later, they had been giving extra attention to the area where the bon fire was being set up, but still nothing yet. By this time, Bert had made her excuses and had been combing the area also, hoping to sense something before the witch could establish a foothold. 

He noticed that more people were beginning to show up, having preferred to skip the daily events to attend the evening ones instead. He and Cas were making their rounds through the crowd when he saw Cas go still beside him. He had that intense look on his face when he looked most like an angel. 

“Cas?” Now Dean was on guard, even more so than before. His eyes scanned the crowd, seeing if he could pick up on whatever it was that Cas had noticed.

He watched him walk over to a young group of kids and snatch a paper from one boy’s hand. The resulting protest was immediately squashed when Cas shot him his ‘smite now’ look. The kids walked off, cursing Cas from a safe distance.

“Dude, the hell are you doing?” He leaned over to look at the paper, his eyes widening. “Huh, that’s different.”

It was a flyer, obviously created by Jeanine. It recounted her story of her sister’s death and how the mayor was directly involved. On the bottom of the page was a bunch words that may have been a spell.

“This is how she’s doing it.” Cas was looking around, and Dean could now see that most people coming through the park were holding similar pages and whispering amongst themselves. 

“She’s gotta be in the parking lot handing them out. Come on.”

Cas grabbed hold of his arm. “No. That is too obvious. She would have planted them to be found, but she wouldn’t stay there. The paper is cursed, Dean. When people hold the paper and read it, and even attempt the spell at the bottom, she’s drawing power from it. She’s casting the spell through them.”

“Damn it! Can you sense her?”

“No. Everyone that has a paper will give off energy.”

Dean saw Bert making her way over. “It’s getting bigger,” she announced.

They explained to her what was happening. “If she’s channeling all this power, I may still be able to find her. Plus, she’ll most likely be more emotional than most.”

“Can you do that?”

“Maybe,” Bert shrugged. “Cas is still powerfully bright. He might cancel it out.” She didn’t get a chance to say anymore because Cas was striding towards the woods. So much for giving a heads up, but at least this time he was walking. Scratch that, now running. 

By the time, he and Bert caught up with him (Dean knows that he used some angel mojo to be able to travel that fast) Cas had a giant rat cornered against a tree. The rat, larger than any he had ever seen was hissing and baring his teeth. Cas was chanting something in Enochian with his hand outstretched, as if he was tethering the beast in place.

Dean reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled out his pistol. He was taking aim when he heard Bert hiss ‘demon’. He swapped the gun for the knife and was circling around behind Cas, looking for the best opening to get to the beast. Every time he took a step closer, the rat reared up on its hind legs, front claws flailing, teeth gnashing. 

Bert came up beside him and reached for the knife. Dean shook his head. There was no way that he was letting her go in. 

“We don’t have time for chivalry. That witch is gaining power. Give me that damn knife.”

He didn’t resist when she reached for it again. With a quick flick of her wrist, Bert stepped forward and threw the knife straight into the rat’s heart.

“Damn,” he breathed, staring at the rat and then Bert. “That was strangely hot.”

“Boy, I’d break you. But would damn sure have fun trying,” she called back as she went to retrieve the knife.

Dean looked over to make sure that Cas was still good. The angel was still on his feet, but breathing a little heavier. “You ok, man?”

“I am fine,” he answered, even though he seemed a bit distracted. 

“The witch?” Bert asked, coming to stand beside them.

“Yes.” His gaze was now more focused, looking back towards the crowd. “With the power that she is harnessing through those flyers, it won’t be long now. We need to go.”

“Wait, what about …that?” Dean grimaced as he looked at the black ooze flowing from the rat. 

Cas spared it a brief glance before holding out his hand towards it and setting it on fire.

“Dude, why the hell didn’t you do that in the first place?”

“It was fighting me, and I would have expended too much energy that I cannot spare at the moment.” He began walking towards where the people were gathering for the bonfire. 

There was a small makeshift platform where the mayor was supposed to make a speech. It was pure luck that he spotted her moving through the crowd. And it was probably that same damn luck that had her make eye contact and realize that she’d been made. She turned and tried to lose herself in the throng of people who were starting to gather near the large pile of lumber. 

They had been hoping that she would make her stand down near the lake. Or if she was taking requests, the woods would have been nicer. But here, next to the fire…. Even if they were able to get next to her, it would appear that they were accosting an innocent young woman. 

The mayor stepped up onto the makeshift stage with several deputies standing nearby. It was somewhat reassuring but they weren’t sure if she would go for a physical attack on the mayor, and if she did, would they be able to stop what she was bringing?

The answer to those questions was yes and no, respectively. The power that she garnered from the spell on the paper was enough to make her feel bold enough to interrupt the mayor’s small dedication, flinging accusations, holding him accountable for his infidelity and the death of her sister. When the officers tried to stop her, she threw a white powdery substance into the air, causing those around her to fall to ground, writhing and screaming. 

After that, the crowd thinned out significantly, parents grabbing their children and running away. The more curious onlookers just created a wider radius and watched from what they deemed was a safe distance. In the chaos, Dean lost sight of Cas and Bert. He had to trust that they were safe and knew what they were doing. This one witch may have a little more power than they had anticipated, but she certainly wasn’t the most powerful one that he had encountered. No, it was the large crowd that was causing the problem.

There were so many people around, some trying to help the fallen officers, while others wanted to help stop her but were too afraid to get closer. Now that he had a clear shot at her, he could see that she was chanting and holding her right hand out towards the mayor. The old man looked as if he was immobilized but in pain. 

“Hey,” he shouted, trying to distract her. When she seemed to be intently focusing only on the mayor, he took his chance and charged at her, hoping to at least knock her to the ground. Three steps before he reached her, she turned, facing him with her left arm reared back to fling something at him. He had too much momentum to change course, but the impact came from the side instead. Cas plowed into him, throwing them both to the ground, and covering Dean with as much as his body as he could. He could feel him tense and then grunt in pain as he absorbed whatever Jeanine had thrown their way. 

“Cas!” The angel was still on top of him, a heavy weight that Dean could barely manage to see out from under. There was no way that he could move him by himself. “Dude, come on, get off me. She’s either going to fry your ass or finish killing the mayor, but we gotta get up.”

He could feel the heavy rapid rise and fall of Cas’ chest pressing down on him. Dean felt him shift slightly and was able to feel his arm move. The bonfire ignited in a great whoosh and the screams of the residents of Cartersville filled the air. Cas rolled sideways, enough for Dean to see, but he was still underneath the angel.

“Stay still,” Cas grunted and gave him an elbow in the chest for good measure when Dean was slow to comply. 

Cas began chanting low, most likely Enochian as he didn’t recognize anything he was saying. His arm began moving steadily but subtlety. The witch howled as she turned toward them again. With a grunt and a fast turn of his hand, Dean watched as Cas flung the witch onto the enormous burning pile of lumber. 

More shrieking was heard throughout the park as the witch burned and those who had seen her flung onto the fire were now running, screaming from the park. 

Cas collapsed, rolling sideways enough for Dean to crawl out from under him. 

He began checking him over, trying to find out where exactly Cas was injured. “Talk to me. What do I do?”

“Nothing,” he groaned. “Just give me a minute.”

He looked around at the carnage that the witch had yielded. If Cas just needed a minute, then he was the lucky one. He could hear the sirens approaching. The police officers were still on the ground; the ones not writhing in pain were unconscious. From what he could see, the mayor wasn’t looking so good either. 

He knew that he should get up and go help out, go check on Bert but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Cas. No way was he leaving him when he was still curled up on the ground and in pain. Still not convinced that there wasn’t anything he could do, he began checking him over again.

Cas tried to swat his hands away, grumbling for him to stop. 

“You guys are certainly effective,” Bert commented as she knelt down beside them. “You going to live, Castiel?”

He grunted in reply and that seemed good enough for her. 

“What kind of damage control do we need to do?” Dean asked, looking over his shoulder and wondering if they were going to have to run interference with the paramedics when they saw Cas laid out on the ground. 

“Not much, from what I saw. Your angel here managed to do that in such a way that nobody really saw him, including me, so I’m just guessing it was him. But from what I’m hearing, most folks think that she did it to herself. They already saw her do some strange magic on the mayor and in her little speech, she let slip that Moorefield had come down to New Orleans. Most folks seem to think she was messing around with some hoodoo that got out of hand.”

“Works for me,” he said. “Any time you’re ready, Cas. Is he ok?” he couldn’t help asking. 

Bert studied him for a moment causing Dean to start to worry all over again. “Calm down. I’ve just had a lot come my way tonight. It’s taking a minute for me to sort it all out. He’s fine.”

Cas grumbled something under his breath and tried to push himself to his feet. Bert and Dean each grabbed an arm and tried to hold his weight while he steadied himself. It took him a few seconds before he nodded and they led him away, doing their best to blend in. 

     By the time they arrived back at the farm, Cas wasn’t faring much better, a fact that was deeply troubling Dean. 

“I just need rest,” Cas argued, “which I have yet had the chance to do.” 

“Yeah, ok, there’s tired, and then there’s in pain,” he pointed out as they made their way over to the stairs. “You’re moving like you’re in pain.”

“That would be because I am, Dean,” he sighed. 

“What did she do?”

“I’m sorry. I misspoke. I ache, and I am tired.”

“Dean, go ahead and take him on up and start running a bath. I’ll be up shortly.”

Naturally, Cas protested and really, Dean couldn’t blame him. But even if he had been hunting longer than Bert, she seemed to have a flair for knowing what they needed. “Just go with this one, Cas. She seems to be able to read you pretty well.”

He took him into the bathroom and had him sit on the closed toilet lid while he began to fill the old claw-footed tub. Turning back around, he saw that Cas looked ready to collapse so he set about taking off his shoes and socks for him. “On your feet,” he told him after working the shirt off with very little help from Cas. He managed to get him to do the work to get his pants off, reminding him to leave his underwear on. 

“Don’t wanna give Bert a peep show,” he told him as he eased him over into the tub. 

Bert came in through the open door and poured a dose of Epson salt into the bath water. “This should help a little,” she told him, “since I know that you prefer a more natural approach.”

Dean had been right about Bert. She knew that Cas hated taking things, and she was pulling together the things that might soothe him without him needing to ingest any meds. 

“I’m making herbal tea. I’ll bring it up once he’s settled back in his room,” she told them before heading back downstairs.

“I hate this,” Cas grumbled.

“What?”

“You know what, Dean. I’m trying to accept what is to be, but it is difficult to be so weak and vulnerable around people. Before when I was wounded, I would recover in Heaven or at least, find a place of sanctuary where I could do so in relative privacy.”

“Yeah, well, us humans usually have to have help.”

“You don’t.”

“Man, Cas, you really do have a screwed outlook.” Taking a seat on the closed toilet lid, he allowed himself a moment of respite. “I’ve had nothing but help. You know that.”

“Hmmm.”

“Are you going to be ok if I….”

“Go. I’m fine,” Cas answered without opening his eyes. And he did look so much better. 

“All right, I’m going to hit up the other shower.”

Cas made another humming noise but didn’t open his eyes. 

   

 

When he got out of his own shower and was feeling marginally better, he found Bert upstairs in Cas’ room. Cas was wearing a t-shirt and boxer briefs and holding a mug of what he guessed was herbal tea. Dean was going to have to have a talk with him at some point about modesty, but figured he was all right with Bert. And she seemed perfectly fine with it, judging from the way she was laying across the foot of the bed. 

“Everybody good?” he asked, taking the only available spot, which was up near Cas. He thought of Sam and how he’d tease him about how they all looked like they were sitting up at a slumber party. 

“Seems like. I’ve had a few phone calls come in, talking about what happened, and I caught the news clip. Most people had their cell phones aimed directly at Jeanine, but the clip that I saw with Cas in it barely showed anything other than him lying crumpled on the ground on top of you.”

“My hero.” He thought he saw the corner of Cas’ lips quirk in amusement.

“Whatever you did, it wasn’t obvious. Everyone is leaning heavily towards the theory that Jeanine did it all somehow.”

“How are the people who caught the brunt of her spell?”

“All I’m hearing is that they are in either serious or critical condition.”

“What was that, Cas? What did she do to them? To you?”

“Poison. Coupled with the spell that she was casting, it attacked the body’s internal systems and attempted to shut them down. Most likely those men will suffer from their body trying to shut down from within.”

“Damn. But what about the mayor? She didn’t get close enough to throw the stuff on him.”

“I imagine the imp most likely placed a hex bag around the mayor. She wanted to ensure that he did not get away.”

“Well, she set out to get our town, and she certainly succeeded. It may be weeks before we find out if she had any other victims,” Bert nodded.

“Did you sense anything else on the way home?”

“Only Cas,” she replied.

Dean nodded, satisfied that this hunt was officially closed. Almost. “Hey Cas, if that stuff is poison, why am I all right? I’m sure some of that powder must have hit me.”

“It works in conjunction with the spell. In a way, she has to send it to the recipient. She saw you approaching, and was sending the spell towards you. Once I pushed you out of the way, I became the sole recipient of the spell and poison. It wouldn’t have any effect on anyone but myself.”

“Maybe we should go ahead and get you checked out anyway.”

“Why? I told you that I’m fine.”

“Yeah, but what if it’s just taking a while to work and I dunno, sometime in the middle of the night, you stop breathing or something.”

“My grace has already burned out the most damaging elements of the poison. The soreness that I feel now is a result of being drained and feeling the effects of that fight.”

“Well, if we’re all good, I’m going to call it a night.” Bert stifled a yawn as she got up from the bed. “You boys need anything?”

“Nah, Ma, we’re good.”

He ducked the pillow that she threw his way, catching it easily and replacing it on the bed.

“You sure you’re good, Cas?”

“I am. I’m not likely to change my answer.”

“So stop asking, huh? All right, I hear you.” Dean watched him as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the pillows. He looked tired. “Hey Cas?”

“Yes, Dean?”

“Thanks for saving me from the witch.”

“You’re welcome. Please stop taking such chances that require me to absorb poisonous powders,” he exhaled, his eyes still closed. “Are you staying?” he asked after a minute.

“Are you sleeping?”

“No.”

“If you wanted to, you know, I could hang out.”

“No.”

After what had happened this evening, Dean knew that Cas needed sleep, but short of drugging him, he knew it wouldn’t happen.


	9. Chapter 9

Carrying his duffle down the hall, he stopped when he saw Cas still in his bedroom. He was rarely ever in here unless it was to rest. 

“Hey Cas, you ready to go?”

He was sitting on the side of the bed, not really doing much of anything from what Dean could see. He glanced around the room, looking for his packed duffle. “Dude, what’s up?”

“Dean, I’m staying.”

“What?” He dropped his bag and stepped into the room. He walked over to the bed and stood next to Cas who still wasn’t looking directly at him. 

“I’m staying.”

“Why? Did you pick up on something else? Did you have another vision?” Cas just shook his head, not giving Dean much to go on. “Did something happen? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” he answered, finally looking up at him. 

“Did you… did it happen? Are you ….” he trailed off, not quite ready to vocalize that just yet. 

Cas seemed to know what he meant though. “No, I’m not human and nothing is wrong. Nor has anything happened. I just feel like I need to stay here.”

Relief mingled with confusion as Dean tried to process what Cas was telling him. “Ok, that’s cool. We’ll just stay a few more days then. Whatever you need.”

“No.” Now Cas was looking away again. “Dean, I need to do this on my own. Without you.”

He couldn’t have heard him right. “Without me?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Dean.”

“No, Cas. Damn it! We’ve been through this so many damn times. Why can’t you get it through your head that we are not splitting up, we’re not walking away. It’s not going to happen.”

“You don’t speak for me, Dean.”

This was getting out of hand. Cas was getting pissed, and he was already beyond pissed. He had really believed that they had crossed a lot of ground together. Cas had been responsive, opening up to him, reaching out to him. And now this.

“What the hell, Cas? Where is this coming from?”

“Dean, I was led here for some reason. Even though we stopped the witch, I don’t think I’m done. I’m supposed to be here with Bert. And I can’t leave until I know that it’s time.”

“And you can’t do that with me here, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.” 

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered. “This is unbelievable. You are unbelievable, you know that, Cas?”

“Dean, you told me that you would always be here for me, that you would stand by me and not turn your back on me.”

“Hey, you’re the one kicking me to the curb, buddy, not the other way around,” he broke in. “This is all on you. I’m right here.”

“So, you’re saying that if I stay, you won’t be there if I need you? That if I choose to do this, you won’t look back?”

Dean shook his head, his jaw clenched so tight that he thought he might shatter a tooth. No way did Cas have the right to pull this crap on him, to come across as the injured party when he was the one sending him away. He had been bending over backwards to show him how much he cared, and this is what he got for his troubles? And to top it all off, Cas had the nerve to sit there and look hurt. 

But he sure as hell had learned from his mistakes, and he could smell the trap that was laid out before him. If he said no, then he was just proving to Cas how much of an ass he really was and that it had all been a lie. But if he said yes, then he kept his word to Cas but also had to let him go. Both options sucked, but Cas had always been a manipulative son of a bitch. 

“All right. Fine. If this is what you want.”

“It’s not what I want,” Cas answered in a soft, broken voice. “But it may be what I need.”

And with that, Dean knew that he would do it. Against his better judgment he would do it. And honestly, it’s not like he had a choice. He’d had his chance with Lisa, and it didn’t work for him. But at least he had his chance. Bobby had normal once with his wife. It ended tragically for them, but he’d had the chance. Sam was still waiting for his chance. And who was he to deny Cas his. 

Walking back towards the door, he picked up his duffle. “Call me if you need me,” he said walking out. Cas didn’t try to stop him or call after him and that told Dean everything that he needed to know.

   As usual in the mornings, he found Bert waiting for him in the kitchen. There was a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits along with a cup of coffee waiting for him, but he just wasn’t up for it today. No, time to hit the road and head back to his family.

He could tell by the look on her face that she already knew so as far as he was concerned, there wasn’t any reason to stick around.

“Thanks for the hospitality. I’ll be heading out now.”

“You should have breakfast before you go.”

“Thanks but I’m good.” He could feel the itch to hurry up and get on out. The last thing he needed was Bert trying to go all motherly on him and comfort him.

“Dean,” her tone was firmer now. “I know that his news was unexpected but at least pay me the courtesy that you would afford a colleague.”

He sighed and dropped his duffle. He took what had quickly become his usual spot at the table. “I don’t normally sit and eat breakfast with colleagues. Hell, I don’t have colleagues.”

“I hear that. Until you two showed up, I hadn’t allowed myself to realize how much I miss being around other hunters. You knew Rufus, so you can imagine what it was like when he came to visit.”

“Yeah, well, I figure Bobby is happy to see us go most of the time.”

“He does have some interesting things to say,” Bert hedged.

“So, this is why you wanted me to stay? So we can make small talk and pretend like nothing’s wrong?”

Bert leaned back in her chair, her gaze steady on him for a moment. “Dean, I’ve lost my family. I lost my husband and now I’m living here, hiding out, trying to stay a step ahead of monsters as well as hunters. I do my best to make my life worthwhile and to help people.”

“Why are you telling me this?

“Because. I’ve known you for less than two weeks, but I trust you with my life. I consider you a friend, and I don’t want you to feel as if this is some type of betrayal. I don’t know if he’s going to find what he needs by staying here, but if I can help, I want to.”

“Fair enough. He’s a big boy. He gets to make his own decisions. ”

“Do you want to know how he’s feeling?”

“Nope.”

“Why did you bring him here?”

He shook his head. “Bobby thought it was a good idea.”

“And you?”

He shrugged and picked up a piece of bacon. He didn’t have much appetite, but eating was preferable to talking.

“Regardless, you brought him here even when you didn’t know about the visions. I’m not psychic, but I guarantee he’ll be back with you before the New Year. Until then, I’ll watch over him, though I doubt he’ll need it.”

Bert was back on her feet moving around the kitchen, and Dean was grateful that she had said her peace and was moving on. All he wanted to do was get in his car and hit the road.

“Appreciate that,” he told her, standing up from the table. “I’ll be in touch.”

“You better. Door’s always open. I mean it.”

He nodded, grabbed his duffle and headed out. He stopped on the porch for a second, trying hard not to think about Cas still sitting upstairs. He felt so much like he was breaking his promise to never leave him, but this is what he wanted. And there just wasn’t anything he could do about it. So, he left.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own anything related to Supernatural. Just having fun writing stories


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